In The Woods, Somewhere
by RozaAlexandra
Summary: Rose Hathaway is a college student. One night she is attacked and found by none other than our very own Dimitri Belikov, detective on the case. As time grows and the two grow closer, will they be able to stop Roses attacker from hurting her again? I'm sorry i'm terrible at summary's. AH. Dimitri/Rose. M for violence and sexual violence, and sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! You might recognise this story from the name and the summary. That's because it is actually a story written by a friend of mine, Jadey1610. She couldn't find the time in her busy life to complete this story so i asked her if i could. She said "as long as you don't ruin it." Lol i hope not! But no she was super happy that i will finish her story, we've discussed lots of ideas and such and what she originally wanted. Anyway, the first 20 chapters or so will be her original chapters, totally unchanged. I have them all ready to upload, though im not sure if i should upload a bunch of them at once seen as though quite a few people were actually reading this story and might just want to skip to where they were up to? If anybody reads this please leave a review to let me know if you think i should upload them one by one or in chunks. The rest of the story will be written by myself, i've already got a few chapters written and ready to go. That sums up whats happening though. Please read and review! Thank you :)**

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I had the day off work today, so I decided to take Nikita out for a long walk/run through the woods, instead of round the block like I normally do. Nikita was my 2 year old, big, loveable Siberian husky. I picked up her leash, called her name and waited for her to come bounding towards me. I never have time to take her into the trees of the woods, what with me being a police detective. It was a very demanding and time consuming job.

I put my grey hoodie on, tied my hair at the nape of my neck, clipped the leash to her collar and set off. We started off with a walk, but soon turned it into a steady jog. Once she we went past the usual boundaries, she knew where we were headed and pulled on her leash excitedly, making us do a flat out sprint. She might only be 2 years, but she was strong.

It takes about 20 minutes of walking to get to the tree line of the forest, we were there within 10. It was pretty big, and Nikita loved it in there, and I have to admit, I did too. It was peaceful, it gave me a chance to gather my thoughts.

I let Nikita off her leash so she could run around freely, when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. Looking at caller I.D, I decided not to answer. It was my ex ringing me. I broke up with her last week, after dating for a couple months. I've known her for years, and all that time she was practically in love with me. I never really felt the same about her though. I mean, yeah she was pretty, but she was crazy man. Obsessive and jealous. I only started going out with her because I felt I owed her the chance to see if we could be something more. Needless to say, it was a mistake. But she still kept calling.

My phone buzzed again, this time with a text.

 _I miss you babe, please can we just meet up and talk about this?_

 _Tasha xx_

Ugh, no thank you Tasha. Not interested.

I heard Nikita bark and howl from a little distance. She ran back to me, whining and barking.

"What is it girl?" I asked, rubbing her head and ears. She started running back in the direction she came, and turned to look at me, whining some more. I think she wants me to follow her.

Picking up the pace, I jogged behind her as she led me away from the natural path, into a small area packed tight with trees and bushes. She stopped a few yards in front of me, barking at something on the ground. As I got closer I saw what is was.

A body.

The body of a girl to be precise. Shit! I ran towards her and bent down next to her. I placed my fingers on her neck and bent down to her chest to see if I could hear her breathing or feel a pulse. She was alive, barely. I pulled out my phone and dialled for an ambulance. After that, I called my partner in crime, or rather, partner in stopping crime, Ivan.

"Ivan, get here now. I've got a girl, badly injured, looks like she was beaten up." I told him where I was and inspected the girl's injuries closer. She looked to be around 19 or 20, but it was hard to tell when she was covered in dirt and blood. Her face, neck, arms, legs and ribs were bruised. There were small cuts here and there, nothing major. The dress she was wearing was torn in multiple places, and pulled up above her waist, leaving her bottom half exposed. I noticed her underwear was torn slightly too, and there was scratch marks on her thighs. Fuck.

I took off my hoodie and wrapped it over her, covering her up. I decided to carry her out, out of the woods as the ambulance wouldn't be able to get this far in. Her body was cold, meaning she'd been out here all night at the very least.

I laid her down on the grass in the clearing back by the main road and checked she was still breathing. She made no sound. Fuck!

I covered her nose with my hand, placed my mouth over hers, breathed into her and started on the chest compressions. I did this a few times before losing my patience.

"Come on, come on. Shit! Come back!" I banged on her chest with my fist. It actually worked. She took in a massive breath of air and opened her eyes. I leaned over her, hoping she could see me.

"Miss? It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay." I tried to tell her calmly.

She started screaming.

She was screaming and crying and thrashing. I put my arms around her to try and restrain her, making sure she didn't hurt herself anymore.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a police detective, I won't hurt you." I said, repeating it over and over. After a minute or two, her screaming stopped, and she looked at me with her brown eyes, before they rolled back into her head and she passed out.

A minute after that, the ambulance and police arrived. I handed her over to the paramedics, and gave my statement of what I found to Ivan. The rest of the police started searching the woods, looking for clues or evidence as to what might have happened.

"You just can't stay away from trouble, can you man?" Ivan said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I didn't look for this, I just stumbled across it." I replied, exhausted already, and it was only 10 am.

"You look tired, you should go home man, enjoy your day off."

I contemplated it, but it felt wrong. I needed to make sure this girl was okay. I'd go home to drop Nikita off, then go to the hospital to see the girl was okay.

An hour later I was in the waiting room of the hospital, wearing my police uniform. People tended to trust the police more than an ordinary person. Not long after that, the doctor called for me, and I walked into her room and she updated me on her injuries. She'd been hit on the head, giving her a hairline fracture. The bruises around her neck were finger shaped, indicating she'd been strangled. She had similar bruises on her arms and legs too. Her ribs were broken and bruised, probably from heavy punching, or kicking. And possibly worst of all, after a medical examination of her genital region, the doctor was confident she had been raped. Her vagina showed signs of forced entry, and her inner thighs were scratched up badly.

I sighed and sat down in the chair near the bed, my head in my hands. These types of cases always hit a nerve with me, what with my not so loving father and the way he treated my mother. One of the reasons I joined the police force was to protect people, women, from stuff like this happening to them. I could almost 100% guarantee this wasn't a random attack. She probably knew the attacker.

Ivan came by after a while and took a copy of her injuries, to put in the police report. He tried to get me to go home but I was adamant to stay. I wanted to be here when she woke up, so she wouldn't be alone.

I don't know how long I sat there for, aimlessly flicking through the free magazines they had laid out on the table, when I saw a movement in the corner of my eye. I turned my head to look at her, and she was looking right at me. She looked dazed, and confused. I pulled my chair up right next to her bed.

"Miss? Can you hear me? Can you see me?" I asked her, as she blinked some more. She moved so she was sat upright in the bed, wincing in pain as she did.

"Where am I? Am I in the hospital?" She croaked. It must hurt her to talk, I realised.

"Yes you are. Do you remember what happened to you? Do you know your name?"

"Who are you?" She demanded, eyeing my uniform.

"My name is Dimitri Belikov. I'm a detective, I found you in the woods this morning. Miss, do you remember what happened to you? Do you know who you are?" I tried to ask again. She looked confused, like she was trying to remember what happened, when she suddenly stared at me, eyes wide and burst out into tears.

I sat in silence and gave her a few minutes to compose herself. I wanted to comfort her, to place a reassuring hand over hers, but I feared she wouldn't like that. Her sobbing started to slow, so I asked the question again.

"Yes, my name is Rose Hathaway, and I remember what happened." She whispered.

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 **Please leave a review about the story and uploading situation, thanks! I hope my writing is as good as hers...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay so, after literally 2 reviews I've decided i'll upload all the previous chapters tonight/tomorrow as there's 22 I think so the people following i'm sorry for all the notifications of new chapters :') But it only seems fair so any returning readers can continue with the story pretty much immediately and any new readers will have 22 brand new chapters to read! Thank you**

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RPOV

Running. I was running, the sound of twigs and leaves crunching under my feet as they pounded on the ground. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't run much longer. He was chasing me, I knew it. I couldn't see him behind me but I knew he was near somewhere. I ran into the woods, hoping to hide there.

This is it. He's finally going to kill me. After the year I knew him, he would finally destroy me.

 _Don't stop running_ , _or find somewhere to hide_ , I thought to myself. Easier said than done. It was dark, around 10pm, there were no street lights here, the only source of light was the moon.

Running further into the woods, away from the path, I managed to find a small enclosed area at the base of a tree, I ran toward it, pushed aside the branches hanging down in front of it and ducked inside. A few minutes later I could hear the crunching of footsteps near the tree.

"Rose?" Crunch. "Rose, I know you're here somewhere." Crunch.

Breathe. Just breathe. _Quietly_. I put my hands over my mouth to muffle the sounds of my breathing, and to stop myself from screaming.

Crunch. The footsteps were getting closer now.

"Rose," He whispered. "My sweet, delicate Rose. Come on out now, before I get angry."

Crunch. I could see the silhouette of him, right in front of the branches I was hiding behind.

My entire body shaking, I cringed back into the dirt, hoping he couldn't see or hear me.

"Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

You know how I feel,

Is it the same for you too?"

He stood, still in front of me, head searching, scanning for me.

"Steel blades are silver,

Blood, a crimson read

We can always be together,

Once we're both dead."

I squeezed my eyes shut. Please, please don't let him see me.

"Did you like my poem Rose? It's just for you. Do you like it? No? Here, I'll sing to you instead."

"An awful noise,  
Filled the air.  
I heard a scream,  
In the woods somewhere.

A woman's voice!  
I quickly ran  
Into the trees with empty hands.

A fox it was,  
He shook afraid.  
I spoke no words,  
No sound he made.

His bone exposed,  
His hind was lame.  
I raised a stone to end his pain.

What caused the wound?  
How large the teeth?  
I saw new eyes were watching me."

When I opened my eyes, I could see he was facing me. His singing was reduced to a whisper.

"The creature lunged.  
I turned and ran  
To save a life I didn't have.

Dear in the chase  
There as I flew  
Forgot all prayers of joining you.

I clutched my life  
And wished it kept.  
My dearest love  
I'm not done yet.

How many years  
I know I'll bear…" He leaned forward, his lips curled into a snarl as he whispered the final line.

"…I found something in the woods somewhere."

He lunged forward into where I was hiding, grabbed my arm and yanked me out into the open again.

I screamed as loud as I could hoping someone, anyone would here.

"Shut up, you little bitch!" He clamped his hand over my mouth and pushed me to ground.

I flailed my arms and legs, trying to escape his death like grip. I clawed at his face, as he was fighting to stay on top me. I managed to break free after scratching his eye pretty bad. I only got to crawl forward a few steps before he grabbed my legs, clawing at my thighs, and pulled me back to him. He clamped his hand over my mouth just as I started to scream again. His other hand trailed down my body, and pulled up my torn dress, above my waist and yanked at my underwear.

I tried to beg, tried to say anything to get him to stop, but his hand muffled any attempt of words coming out of my mouth. I continued struggling against him, lashing out at him. He couldn't do this to me. Please. _Please_. I silently begged.

He let go of my mouth, to undo the zip on his pants. I screamed again. Please someone hear me. _Please!_

I saw the rock in his hands, but it was too late for me to react. He smashed the rock over my head. Pain shattered in my skull, my vision blurred, black spots danced across my eyes. My whole body went limp, I realised as my head hit the ground. I tried to move my arms again, I tried to say something. But it wasn't responding, it wasn't doing what I wanted.

I felt one of his hands go around my throat and he squeezed, cutting off air from my lungs. I felt a sharp pain, below my waist, below my hips.

I decided to let go. Let go of my consciousness, of the pain he was causing me. The darkness washed over me completely.

DPOV

I sighed and asked her a question I'd asked one hundred times already.

"Are you sure you don't want to press charges?" I looked at her, pleading with my eyes. If she didn't press charges I wouldn't be able to hunt that bastard down. I wouldn't be able to do anything. She told me he was an ex-boyfriend. A very possessive one. They'd started dating in January, almost a year ago now, but after 3 months of dating, she broke up with him, because she didn't feel for him the way he did for her, and because he was controlling, jealous and possessive. He left her alone for a while, but started bothering her during the summer, sometime in June. He would call and text every day, show up at her house, at her friend's house. He'd follow her around. He did this constantly, but the past month he started becoming aggressive, and violent towards her. Ivan had told me he remembered going to her house 2 weeks ago, because of complaints of a man stalking her and smashing one her windows in her home. She said at the time she didn't know him, but I'm guessing that was a lie.

She told me all this, but she wouldn't tell me his name, or what he did, or where he lived.

"No, I don't." She said firmly, crossing her arms and looking away from me.

"Rose, you realise what he did to you, don't you? He could do it again! To you, or to someone else! Please, please report him!" I begged her.

She snapped her head up to look at me and shouted. "You don't think I know what he did? You don't think I know he raped me? Beat me? Left me for dead?" she yelled.

"Then why are you letting him get away with it?" I hissed angrily. I realise losing my temper with her probably wasn't helping her, but she needed to know the consequences of not reporting him.

I sighed again, and calmed my voice down. "Look, Rose, I know you're scared. I know. But if you don't report him, there's nothing I can do to help you. Do you understand that? Do you want him to get away with it? To do it again? Or to someone else?"

She looked away, guilt in her eyes. She might not care what happened to her, but I knew she felt guilty, she wouldn't want this happening to any other women, all because she refused to report him. I could see it in her face, she wanted to help people. She told me she was in her final year of college, studying to become a doctor. She was also 20 years old, with long brown hair, brown eyes, and slightly tanned skin. Skin that was covered in cuts and bruises, because she was either too stubborn or too afraid to turn him in _. Or maybe both_ , I thought.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. I can't turn him in, okay?" She said, tears springing in her eyes.

I rested my hand on the bed, near hers. I was still afraid to touch her, in case it terrified her.

"Rose, I promise, he can't hurt you anymore, I won't let him. But you have to tell me who he is. I can't protect you otherwise." I said, trying one final time to talk some sense into her.

She shook her head, I could see anger rising in her again. It seemed she got angry whenever tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

"I said no! I don't want to press charges, so what are you still doing here? Get out!" She was shouting at me again. "Nurse! NURSE!" She continued shouting.

The nurse came barging through the door, wondering what all the shouting was about.

"Make him leave! I don't want him here!" Rose yelled again. The nurse turned to me. I could tell from her face, she didn't think I was a threat.

"Detective, I think it's time you left…" She said, trying to sound polite. I nodded, pulled a piece of paper from my pocket and scribbled my name and number on it. I placed the paper on the bedside table, assuming Rose wouldn't take it willingly.

"If you need anything, if you're scared and you need someone, just call me okay? That's my personal number, no police, just me." I reassured her. She looked at me, with a little guilt in her eyes. I think she felt bad for yelling at me to leave.

When I finally got home, I fed Nikita, and collapsed on the couch, watching some random programme as I fell asleep.

I woke up to somebody knocking on my door. I say knocking, _banging_ was more accurate. Looking at the clock, it was 9pm, I realised I'd been asleep for almost 2 hours. I wandered to the door and opened it. Ivan was standing there, with a bag full of Chinese food, and box full of beers. I stepped aside to let him in.

"Hey man, thought you could so with some beers and food, considering you practically worked all day on your first day off in ages."

"Thanks Ivan, that's really nice of you." I replied. He was kind of an ass sometimes, but he also knew when I needed cheering up.

"Whoa hey, I wouldn't have come over if I realised you were going to be soppy. Want to paint each other's nails and braid our hair?" He batted his eyes at me. I only responded by picking up one of the cushions on the coach and throwing it, hitting him in the face.

I chuckled as I walked into the kitchen to get some knives, forks and plates.

We sat in silence as we ate, watching some movie that was supposed to be funny on TV.

After a while, he turned to me. "So how's the girl? Is she going to turn him in?" I felt my anger come back as I replied.

"No, she's too scared. Hopefully she'll come around." I told him what had happened today, he became almost as angry as I was.

We let the conversation change to something less depressing. I hoped she would call me if anything came up.

"Well, I gotta go man, I'm meeting Katy tonight." He said as he rose off the chair.

"So there's a Katy now too, huh?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. "What about Sarah? Louise? Sophie? Are you meeting them tonight too?" I asked. Ivan may be my best friend, but he wasn't half a womaniser. He wanted one thing, and one thing only.

"Hey, I thought I was the jerk around here?" He joked, smirking.

After Ivan left, I sat with my laptop on my legs. I had the police database up, where you can search for a person and find out a lot about them. I contemplated typing in Roses name. Maybe there'd be something here, something I could use to help her.

I sighed and closed the laptop. I had a feeling she wouldn't react too well to me snooping around her life.

I set the laptop on the table, and walked into the bedroom. It was only 11pm, but I was shattered. I peeled my clothed off, chucked them in the basket and climbed into bed.

That night I dreamt of a girl, with her long brown hair flowing slightly in the wind. Her back facing me, and she stood in a garden full of roses.


	3. Chapter 3

RPOV

I was finally allowed to go home, after being in this hell hole for an entire week. Next time I step foot in a hospital, I want to be a nurse, helping people, not cooped up in a room day and night. Lissa had visited me a few times, and Mia came along once too. They were both gushing about their new found loves. Lissa had just started dating an old friend of mine, Christian. He was snarky, sarcastic and a jerk, but I loved him, and they were good together. Mia had also just started dating Lissa's older brother, Andre. She's had the biggest crush on him for years.

Christian and Adrian had visited me too. Like I said, Christian was my best friend. Adrian was my ex-boyfriend. We dated for a couple of months, but we broke up because he was kind of a womaniser, and I didn't really trust him. We're good friends now though. He's the only man I'd ever given myself to, _willingly,_ I thought to myself, stomach feeling sick.

Initially, I was just going to tell Lissa that I had been attacked, not wanting her to worry about me. She got stressed very easily. But I decided to tell her the whole truth, how Zi had attacked, sexually assaulted me and left me for dead. As I suspected, she cried. A lot. She hugged me and I held back the tears, not wanting her to see me cry. But I finally convinced her I was okay.

I hadn't heard from Zi at all. Probably because he thought I was dead, I realised.

I packed my bag, and headed out the main doors. I cussed under my breath when I realised I had no way of getting back home. I say home, I mean campus. I lived in a dorm room by myself. Originally, I was rooming with a girl called Avery, but she was a total bitch, and I don't play well with others, especially mean girls. We both complained about each other to officials, to the point where they gave in and gave us our own rooms.

I didn't have enough money on me for a taxi. My car was on campus. Lissa was in class, like I was supposed to be. She was a medic student too. Damn I'd have some catching up to do work wise.

Christian! I would call Christian, I hoped he wasn't busy.

As I turned around to head inside, my head down, typing in Christian's number, I walked right into somebody, nearly knocking me down in the process. His hands reached out and grabbed my arms to stop me falling.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I wasn't look-

I stopped talking when I looked up and saw who it was. "Dimitri…Uh sorry, Detective Belikov"

He smiled at me, his arms still holding me. He seemed to notice this and promptly dropped them by his side. He was wearing what I assumed were his work clothes. A white shirt, black pants, and a duster.

"Rose, how are you feeling? And please, call me Dimitri" He said, a look of genuine concern in his eyes. I felt bad about yelling at him that night, he was only trying to do what he though was right.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking. I was just about to head home but I realised I didn't have a ride." I said.

"Oh, I can take you home if you want." He offered.

"That's nice of you, but I'll just call my friend."

"Rose, my car is right there, do you want to go home or not?" He asked, with a slight smile. I would like to go home now, it'd take Christian at least half an hour drive to get here from campus.

I smiled back, "Yeah I would, thanks." He smiled at me once more before taking my bag from me and walking to his car, I swiftly followed. Normally kids, I'd say don't get into cars with strange men, but for some unknown reason, I knew I could trust this man. Probably because he worked for the police. _Not all police are good Rose, you should know that by now,_ I thought to myself.

We got in the car, I told him I lived at the campus and we set off.

After a few minutes of silence, I finally spoke out.

"Hey, I wanted to apologise, for my outburst that night. I realise now, you were just trying to help, trying to do the right thing." He looked over at me with surprise on his face. He wasn't expecting an apology.

"You don't have to apologise Rose, but thank you." He paused, "does this mean you'll report him now?" he asked hopeful.

I sighed and looked out the window. "I can't Dimitri, you won't understand, but I just can't."

I heard him sigh. "So help me understand, why can't you report him?"

"I can't tell you that either, I'm sorry okay? It's not just because I'm afraid, there's another reason."

"And you can't tell me that reason?" He asked. I shook my head in reply.

He sighed again, "Has he contacted you at all?" He looked over at me, fists gripping the wheel hard, muscles tensed.

"No, he hasn't." He visibly relaxed at my reply, but didn't say anything. Another 10 minutes passed, we were about 5 minutes away now.

"Will you call me, if he contacts you I mean, or if you have any trouble, or problems?" He looked over at, worry showing on his face.

"Sure thing, Comrade." I said, trying to lighten the mood a little.

He looked over at me, raising an eyebrow. Cool. "Comrade?" He asked.

"Yeah, you're Russian right? That's what that accent is?" I noticed it when he first spoke, a slight Russian accent. It was quite nice, actually.

He pulled into a space in the campus parking lot, stopped the car and laughed a little. "And you think that gives you the right to call me Comrade?" he said as he looked at me, with an amused smile.

"Sure it does, and if you don't like it, well, you're just gunna have to deal with it… Comrade."

He sighed, shaking his head, but a smile was still on his face. He got out of the car, retrieved my bag from the boot and handed it to me.

"You going to be okay?" He asked

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I gave him a small smile.

"And you'll call me if-

"I'll call if anything happens, I promise." I interrupted him. He looked relieved.

"Okay, well, I gotta head back to work. I'll see you around." He said, but it sounded more like a question.

"Yeah I'll see you around. Bye Comrade" I winked as I started walking away. I turned back to see him shake his head once more. He didn't like that nickname, which made me like it even more.

Thinking about it as I walked back to my dorm room, he was actually kind of good looking. He was tall, like 6'7 tall. He had shoulder length brown hair, and soft brown eyes. If I hadn't just been attacked a week ago, I probably would've hit on him. Nah, he must have a girlfriend. A guy looking like that would definitely not be single.

I opened my door, threw my bag on the floor and collapsed on the bed, pain shooting in my ribs. The doctor told me I had broken a few, and they were badly bruised, it would take a month or two to fully heal. I didn't remember him hurting my ribs though, he must've done it when I was unconscious. I shivered and pushed the memory of that night out of my head, like I've done every day this past week.

Mmm, I used to think this bed was awful. But after spending a week in the hospital, I had a sudden new appreciation for it.

I woke up to the sound of knocking on my door, and my tummy growling with hunger. I looked at the clock before standing up. 12:30pm, lunch time!

I opened the door to see Christian standing there with a smirk on his face. He lived on the ground floor of the building, I lived on the third floor, the top level.

I grinned at him and he wrapped me in his arms and lifted me off the floor in a bear hug. I gasped in pain and he quickly let go. "Oh God, I'm sorry, what did I do?" he asked concerned.

"It's just my ribs Chris" I replied. He frowned, he wanted to kill Zi for attacking me, but he didn't know that he sexually assaulted me too. I asked Liss not to tell anybody, I didn't need the whole campus staring at me, knowing what happened. That'd be too much for me to handle.

"I'm going to fucking kill him if I see him." He hissed as he clenched his fists

"I'll help." A familiar voice chimed in.

"Adrian, what are you doing here?" I asked, smirking at him, with a hint of my flirty smile thrown in there. He might be my ex, but we still liked to flirt now and again, harmlessly of course. Not that he wouldn't have sex with me if I offered.

"I'm here to see you, little girl." He replied, smiling broadly. He strolled over to me, and gave me a small hug, not wanting to hurt me.

Just then my stomach growled again.

"Ooh, hungry for me already, Rose?" Adrian waggled his eyebrows at me. He liked to make sex jokes a lot. I faked a laugh, because that's what I normally did. I didn't want them knowing that the thought of touching anyone in that way made me feel sick.

I punched his arm and Christian suggested we all go for lunch.

Half an hour later I was sat in a pizzeria in town, with my two idiots that I loved, stuffing my face with pepperoni pizza. I was a sucker for pepperoni.

We chatted and I actually laughed, for real this time. These guys always knew how to cheer me up. And for the first time this week, I actually forgot about that night.

A little while later, Adrian suggested we move on and go out for some drinks. He was a major party animal, mainly so he could pick up girls.

I frowned, "I don't know if I'm up for that Adr-

"Not a proper night out, just a couple of drinks sat in a bar. Come on Rose, you need it!" He interrupted me.

I wouldn't mind, at least I wouldn't be alone in my room. I didn't want to be alone anymore.

"But I'm not dressed for that…" I said, still unsure.

He managed to convince me. We quickly went back to my room, and I changed into some torn black jeans, and a white crop top, showing off a small section of my midriff, but still covering the bruises on my ribs. I looked in the mirror before leaving, I looked good in something so simple. My hair was down, flowing down to my waist, but I messed with it so it covered most of the bruises on my neck. I put a little red lipstick and mascara on, not needing anything else. My tattoos were exposed too. I had a full sleeve on my left arm, with pieces like an elephant, a warrior girl, some roses, _cliché I know_ , and loads of dot work. I haven't stopped loving it since I got it. You couldn't make out any bruises on that arm. I also had a geometric dot design tattoo on my neck, which kind of disguised the bruises there anyway. The rest of the bruises on my other arm were faded so much, you could barely see them, and they hadn't been that bad to begin with.

I put on my black leather jacket, my black and white wedges and off we went to meet the rest of the gang in the bar. I looped arms with Christian on one side, Adrian on the other. Initially I was worried about going out so soon after the attack, but I knew I was safe with these boys. I'd also saved Dimitris number in my phone, in case I needed it.

DPOV

"I don't want to go on a blind date, Ivan!" I exclaimed at my friend as we sat in my apartment.

"It's too late, I already called her, and you're meeting her at 6pm at the Point." He replied.

I sighed, ran my hands through my hair. Dammit, I didn't want to go out with some random girl, but I couldn't just cancel on her. I didn't want to be rude.

"Fine, I'll go. But I'm not happy about this." I said, glaring at him.

He laughed, "Come on man, she's hot. I wouldn't set you up anything less that hot." He waggled his eyebrows at me.

"Ugh, you haven't slept with her have you?"

He faked looking offended. "No, and I'm hurt you think that Dimka." He smirked at me.

I scanned nearby me, to see if there was anything I could throw at him again. I couldn't see anything that wouldn't cause serious damage.

"What's her name again?" I asked.

"Naomi, she's 24 like you, she has her own beauty salon in town somewhere."

Ugh, she was probably going to be really high maintenance. I scolded myself for judging her too quickly.

An hour later I was dressed in black jeans and a white tee shirt that hugged my body. I decided to walk to The Point considering it was only 10 minutes away. And I'll probably be drinking a little, it was a bar after all.

I walked into the bar and spotted her sitting at the bar, a drink in front of her. Ivan showed me a picture of her, so I knew who she was. She had long blonde hair, fake of course, with blue eyes and big lips. She wore way too much make up and she also had a tan, but it wasn't natural. She wore a short deep red dress, which showed a lot of leg and a lot of cleavage, and matching red heels. I suppose she was attractive, if you like that kind of thing. I kind of preferred my women more natural.

I sighed internally and made my way over to her. I was already regretting this.

She kissed me on the cheek when I greeted her, and we sat down at a table instead of at the bar.

As I suspected, the conversation was awful. She yammered on about her beauty salon, how looks were incredibly important to her blah blah. I sat with my beer, occasionally nodding and chiming in. I didn't want to come off as rude, but I had absolute zero interest in this girl.

As she continued talking about God knows what, my mind wandered to Rose. She still hadn't called me, I suppose that's a good thing. It meant that guy hadn't been in touch with her. But I still couldn't help feeling disappointed, I liked talking to her, she intrigued me.

A touch on my arm brought me back to the present. She was smiling flirtatiously at me, her hand stroking my bicep… "So do you?" She asked, hand still on my arm. Shit! I wasn't listening, I didn't hear the question.

"I'm sorry, what was the question?" I asked, wishing she would take her hand off me.

"I asked do you work out a lot. You look like you do, you feel like you do..." She purred.

I frowned looking down at her hand, "Uh, I guess yeah…"

She frowned slightly, probably because I wasn't flirting back.

I looked away from her, not wanting to make eye contact, when something caught my eye at the bar.

She was wearing high-waisted torn black jeans, making her already long legs look longer. A cropped white top, showing a small section of her waist. Her long brown hair flowed in soft curls and waves down her back. She had tattoos too, normally I'm not that bothered about them, but on her? They looked amazing. I looked up at her face and saw she was looking right at me, smiling slighting with her red lips. She waved at me, just as I was about to wave back I felt something on my leg.

I turned back to… what was her name? Naomi? She'd plastered the flirty smile back on her face and I felt her bare foot sliding up my leg. I jumped up quickly, nearly knocking over the table in the process.

I cleared my throat, "I'm sorry, uh, I'll be right back."

I walked straight to her at the bar, her smile growing as I approached her.

"Hey Comrade" She said, pulling me into a hug. I was surprised, but I gently wrapped my arms around her in return.

"What brings you here?" She asked me as she pulled away, eyeing the girl I'd left at the table. "Are you on a date?" She exclaimed.

I groaned. "Ivan set me up on a date." I frowned at her.

She laughed. "Normally people are happy on dates, Comrade. Why the long face? Is she not good enough for you?" She teased, smirking at me.

"She's not really my type." I replied, frowning again.

"Oh, so petite, fake breasted blondes aren't your type? What kind of man are you?" She joked, laughing.

"I prefer my women more natural." _Like you_ , I thought.

What the fuck are you thinking Belikov, she was attacked one week ago, she has no interest in you, and you shouldn't be interested in her. But that wasn't the case. I found myself wanting to be accepted by her, for her to find me attractive too.

Just then I felt a hand on my arm again. It wasn't Roses, like I'd hoped, but Naomi's.

"Hey, I'm thinking about going home, if you'd like to come with me." She whispered, trying to be seductive. She put her other hand on my stomach, moving her hand over my abs.

I was trying to think of an excuse when, sensing my discomfort, Rose chimed in.

"He can't, sorry. He uh… has to do something… with me." It wasn't a great excuse, but it was better than me saying nothing at all.

Naomi turned her head towards Rose and glared at her, judging her up and down. She turned back to look at me. "You're saying no to me, for this piece of trash?" She asked me, her voice harsh.

"Hey! Who do you think you are? You can't talk to me that way." Rose said as she turned her body towards Naomi, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm his date, so back off you ugly bitch!" she practically yelled.

Rose laughed in return. "Aww, you actually think he's interested in you? And ugly? Me? Have you looked in a mirror lately?" Naomi tried to say something, but Rose kept talking. "Let me give you a piece of advice Princess, ditch the fake hair, ditch the disgusting amount of make up on your face, and walk away little girl." She finished her tirade, standing defiantly with her eyebrows raised.

I realised I should have said something by now, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything. Plus, I had a feeling Rose liked fighting her own battles when some mean girl starts on her.

Naomi looked at me for defence, I simply shrugged my shoulders and said sorry. She huffed and stormed out of the bar.

"Bitch" Rose muttered under breath. She looked at me and apologised. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin you date."

"Don't worry, it was ruined before it even started. I feel kind of bad though…" I trailed off.

"Don't. She was a bitch, and you can do much better than her." She smiled up at me.

"I can?" I asked, returning the smile.

"Of course you can, Comrade. Have _you_ looked in a mirror? You're like, the most handsome guy I've ever met." She replied, looking me straight in the eye. I gave her one of my rare, full blown smiles, as I looked into her deep brown eyes. Hey breath caught in her throat, and a light pink blush spread across her cheeks as she looked down. Did she really find me that attractive? _What does it matter_ , it thought to myself, _it's not like you can just ask her out!_

She peeked up at me again. "So, what are you doing now?" She asked me.

"Uh, I'll probably just go home, now that my wonderful date is over."

"Well, if you want, you can stay? Have a few drinks with me and my friends?"

"Are you sure they wouldn't mind?" I asked her, excited by the thought of spending more time with Rose.

"Of course not." She looked down, kind of shyly. "So uhm, do you want to? You don't have to if-

"Of course I want to" I interrupted her, smiling at her again. I don't know what it was about this girl, but I was always smiling around her. She looked at me, relieved and happy, smiling at me again.

I bought another beer and, after her initial protests, her a Malibu and coke. We made our way back to her table where she introduced me to her friends, Lissa, Mia, Christian, Adrian, Mason and Eddie.

We spent the rest of the night chatting, joking and laughing. Eventually, everyone left to do their own thing, so it was just Rose and I. We talked a lot. She told me about her life. Her mother wasn't around, they only spoke a couple times a year, and she didn't know who her father was. She wanted to be a doctor because she wanted to help people, but she also talked about how she was torn between a doctor and a vet, because she loved animals too. I told her about my dog and that she would love her. I told her about my family, how we have moved from Russia. I even told her about my father, who was abusive towards us all, but even more so to my mother.

"That's why you became a Detective, isn't it?" She asked, a little shock in her eyes.

"Yes," I replied, "I want to help people to." I told her. We both sat, with small smiles, suddenly learning and understanding one another completely.

We lightened the conversation, teasing each other again, when she yawned.

"Well, I thinks it's time for bed, Comrade." She said, yawing again. I was tired too, looking at my watch, I realised it was 1am. We'd been here for 7 hours! She put on her jacket and we walked outside.

"How are you getting home?" I asked her, I didn't want her walking alone.

"I'll just walk, it's not far from here." She looked around, frowning, probably thinking it wasn't a good idea to walk alone.

"Want me to walk you home?" I offered.

"Oh, you don't have to do that." She said, still look worried.

"Come on, I don't mind. You're crazy if you think I'm going to let you walk alone." I told her.

We walked, the conversation flowed easily, even after all this time. She even gave me her phone number and said something about me having hers, because she had mine.

We eventually reached he dorm and she turned to face me.

"Thanks for walking me home, Comrade." She said sweetly, looking up at me from under her lashes.

"You don't have to thank me, Roza." I smiled in return.

She looked momentarily confused. "Roza?" She asked.

Shit.

"Oh…Uhm, it's you name, in Russian." I said, running a hand through my hair as I looked down to the ground. "Sorry, I shouldn't-

"I like it" She interrupted me. I looked at her again, she was smiling at me now. She put her hand on the side of my head, leaned up on her tip toes, and kissed me on the cheek. Even with high heels on, I still towered over her.

"Goodnight, Comrade." She whispered as she pulled away and opened the door to the building.

"Goodnight, Roza" I whispered in return. She turned to look back at me, smiled once more and closed the door.

I walked home with a smile on my face the entire way, the feeling of her lips still lingered on my cheek. Thinking about it, it was almost as if we just went on a date. And it was the best one I've ever had.


	4. Chapter 4

RPOV

I woke up feeling much better today, I mean, my head and ribs still hurt a lot, but emotionally? I felt better. Thinking back to last night brought a massive smile to my face. How could I know someone for only a week, and yet understand him completely? We shared so much with each other last night, stuff I never even talk about with my friends. And he did the same. I thought I'd never be able to trust a man after what happened, but I knew, I felt it in my heart that I would trust Dimitri with my life. And for the first time the attack, I didn't cry myself to sleep, or have any nightmares.

I got up, showered, got dressed and headed off to class. It was Monday today, and I started my classes again after being off for the week. Thankfully, Lissa said she'd help me catch up on what I missed.

As I walked across campus, my mind wandered back to last night, back to Dimitri. I loved the way the conversation flowed easily. I loved the way we joked and teased each other. I wondered when I'd next see him again, maybe I should give him a text or a call-

"Uhmph!" I exclaimed as a girl ran into me, knocking our books and stuff on the floor.

"Oh my Gosh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going! Sorry!" I looked up at the girl speaking to me, she looked familiar. Long brown hair, with golden streaks, and brown eyes. She also had a Russian accent. It seems I keep bumping in Russian people a lot lately.

"No, it's okay, it was probably my fault. I keep walking into people these days, sorry." I apologised as we both bent down to pick up our stuff.

We both stood there awkwardly for a second, when she started looking round. She looked lost, _she's probably a first year,_ I thought to myself.

"Are you okay? You look kind of lost." I told her.

She looked a little embarrassed. "Yeah, I'm trying to find this building, but this place is so big!"

I asked her what the building was called and she showed me a piece of paper with the name on it.

"Oh, I know where that is. I'm heading in that direction, if you want to walk with me?" I asked her.

She gushed and thanked me and we started walking side by side. I glanced at her again, where did I know her from? I decided to ask her outright.

"Hey, do I know you? You look familiar but I can't place it."

She looked over at me. "Uhm, I don't think you know me. I've seen you around though, with that blonde girl?"

"Oh, maybe I've just seen you around too then." I replied. That must be it, I couldn't think of anything else.

"What's your name, sorry?" I asked her.

"Viktoria. You're Rose right?" She smiled and asked me.

"How did you know my name?" I asked, confused and slightly suspicious.

"Oh, um, I've heard people talk about you, and the blonde girl. Vasilisa, is it? Yeah, you're kind of popular." Her face flushed red as she looked down at the ground. Huh. Popular, I hadn't known that. I guess we spoke to a lot of people, but I didn't know that made us popular.

After a few moments of silence I spoke again, not wanting her to feel awkward around me. "So, you're a first year right? What are you studying?" I asked her.

"Yeah, and I'm studying veterinary medicine." She smiled at me, "I want to be a vet, I love animals. What about you?" She asked.

"I was going to do that, but decided on regular medicine instead. I want to be a doctor" I smiled back at her. "So, do you like it here?"

"Uh, yeah. I mean, I keep getting lost, and most of the girls in my class are kind of mean, which I didn't expect at college, but whatever." She looked embarrassed again.

We'd reached her building now and she thanked me and we said our goodbyes. I felt bad though, this girl didn't seem like she had many friends. Just before she walked through the door I called her name.

"Yeah?" She turned around, clutching her books in her hands.

"Uhm, I'm going for lunch in 2 hours with Lissa, if you want to join us?" I asked her. I wanted her to enjoy college, which was hard to do when nobody included you in anything.

She looked hopeful and said yes. We agreed to meet at the café on campus at 12.

After that I met Lissa in class. I took notes and she passed me a piece of paper. Looking down I'd seen she'd made notes on what I'd missed last week. I looked up at her and thanked her. I loved this girl, she was so kind and thoughtful of others. She'd make a great medic.

Two hours later, we met up Viktoria and we sat in the café and ate lunch. Viktoria was surprised at how much I ate, and Lissa just laughed. I didn't care, I loved food. Nobody would take that away from me. After a while, Lissa left to go meet Christian, and Viktoria and I exchanged numbers so we could hang out some more. She walked away with a big smile on her face, and I couldn't help but feel kind of proud of myself.

As I was walking back to my room, I looked around the field, scanning to see if I knew anybody I could talk to.

That's when I saw him.

Zi.

He was stood a little a ways from me, staring at me, his mouth hanging open. He looked shocked and surprised _. Yeah, because you're meant to be dead_ , I thought.

I quickly looked away from him and picked up the pace, heading towards my dorm. I'd made it to the front of my building, fumbling with my keys trying to get inside, when I heard his voice behind me.

"Rose?" He asked. "Is it really you?"

I froze at the sound of voice, chills crawling over my skin, not sure what I should do.

"Are you really here?" He asked again.

I turned around to look at him, his face still looked shocked, like he couldn't believe I was stood right in front of him.

"Yes, I'm really here, are you surprised." I hissed, trying to sound bold, but shaking inside.

"But I… but you… you're…" He trailed off.

"Dead?" I finished for him. "No, I'm not, no thanks to you, you asshole!" I was shaking with anger now. I never thought I could truly hate someone. But I did now, I hated him down to my core. I hated what he did to me, the way he violated me.

He suddenly smiled like there had never been a problem between us, like we were together.

"Rose, I missed you baby. I'm so glad you're back." He started walking towards me, as I stepped back I felt the wall against my back. "Where have you been, baby?" He asked.

"I've been in hospital, because of you! Now stay away from me!" I hissed again.

He walked forward until he was stood right in front of me, his blue eyes piercing mine. I noticed there was a line that went down through his eyebrow and stopped just under his eye. That's the scratch I gave him that night, I realised.

He put one hand around my waist and rested it on the small of my back, the other hand on the wall beside my head. He had me trapped.

"Don't be like that Rose," he said, dipping his head towards my neck. I tried to push him away from me but he grabbed my wrists and slammed me again the wall, pinning me there.

He sighed and looked down at the ground. After a second he looked back up at me. "I'm sorry Rose, I never wanted to hurt you. I love you," he whispered, leaning his head to my neck again. I felt his lips kissing my neck.

"Let go of me!" I shouted.

"What are you gunna do, baby? I had my way with you once, I can easily do it again." He threatened, the look in his eyes made me feel sick to my stomach.

"Let go of me, or I'll scream" I threatened him back. If I screamed, it would attract unwanted attention.

"Rose, don't be like that-

I started screaming, as loud as I could. He swiftly let go of me and took a couple steps back. There wasn't much he could do in front of all these people.

I stopped screaming, a few people turned to look at us.

"You're going to regret that, you stupid bitch." He whispered, clenching his fists. I suddenly wasn't so sure that he wouldn't hurt me in front of these people. I'd majorly pissed him off now. And he was fucking crazy.

He gave me one last cruel look, and walked away from me. I quickly unlocked the door and ran into the building, closing the door behind me. He couldn't get in here unless someone let him in. All the dorms had different keys to get into the main door. I ran upstairs and slammed my bedroom door closed. I leaned against it, shaking hard, trying to control my breathing. My wrists and ribs hurt from when he slammed me against the wall. I couldn't stop the tears that flowed, sobs escaping from me. I slid down while and sat on the floor, sobbing hysterically.

What was he doing here anyway? He didn't go to college, he was 23 for God sake. Then I remembered, his younger brother went here. Nathan, I'd barely spoken to him, but I'd heard he was a dick towards women. I hoped he wasn't as bad as his brother.

After I stopped crying, and got my breathing under control, I decided to call Dimitri. I promised I would if I had any contact from Zi, which I definitely just did.

He answered after two rings.

"Belikov." He said sharply.

"Dimitri?" I asked, my voice soft.

"Rose, is that you?" He asked, his voice becoming softer

"Yes. I…" I didn't know what to say.

"Are you okay? Has something happened?" he asked, sounding worried.

"He was here," I said shakily. "He spoke to me."

I heard him mutter something in Russian. "What did he do? Did he hurt you?" he asked, sounding angry.

"Kind of, he slammed me against the wall. But that's it. Apart from that he just spoke to me." I admitted. He muttered again, and I heard people talking to him on the other end of the phone.

He sighed. "I'm pretty busy, but I can try and come over soon, if you want?" he asked.

I wouldn't mind seeing him, but I felt bad if I pulled him out of work.

"No, you don't have to do that. I'm fine, Comrade."

"Are you sure, I could probably get out-

"Seriously, it's fine. I'm gunna call Lissa anyway," I lied. "She'll come over with Christian or something. I'll be fine. Thank you though." I told him.

We said our goodbyes and I hung up. I wasn't going to call Lissa because it was hers and Christians date night tonight. I didn't want to bother them. Instead, I simply put a movie on the TV and lay on my bed.

VPOV

I knocked on the door and waited for him to answer. He opened the door and looked a little surprised.

"Vika, what are you doing here?" my brother asked me.

"I went home to visit Mama for a bit, but Sonya was being a pain in the ass again, so I thought I'd stop by here on my way back to campus." I replied, as he stepped aside and let me into his top floor apartment.

"Ugh, I can imagine." He replied. He knew too well what a pain Sonya was being, now that she's heavily pregnant. "I'm cooking some food for dinner, if you want some?"

Suddenly I was starving, and I knew Dimka was a good cook, like our mother. How could I refuse?

"Sure, thanks." I replied. We went into the kitchen and I sat on one of the stools as he continued cooking, adding a little more so there was enough for the two of us.

"How's college going?" he asked. I'd told him about the girls in my class. They were total bitches. I tried to talk to one of them once, her name was Avery I think, and she just laughed in my face, flipped her hair and walked away.

"It's going good. I think I actually made some friends today too. They're really nice." I said and he smiled at me.

"That's good. Are they in your class?"

"Nah, they study Medicine." He looked like he was thinking of saying something, but changed his mind.

I stayed at Dimka's for a couple hours. We ate and watched a movie. I missed my brother quite a lot. And I always worried about him, because he's a detective. You know when you hear stories about people's dads who don't come home after work because they've been shot or something? I worry that'd happen to Dimka. He was a big guy though, he could handle himself.

There was a knock on the front door, and Dimitri got up to answer to answer it. I froze when I heard his voice. Dimitri returned, with Ivan in tow.

Shit. I've had the biggest crush on him for as long as I could remember.

He walked over to me and gave me a nuggie, messing up my hair. He laughed as I protested. I sighed internally. I wish he would stop seeing me as Dimitris little sister. I wasn't little anymore, I was 18! I have boobs and everything.

After a while, Ivan and Dimitri decided to go to the gym. I had nothing else to do, so I tagged along with them, quickly stopping off at the dorm to grab some workout clothes. Unfortunately for me, I had to actually exercise to keep my body looking good. Ugh, life is so cruel sometimes.

RPOV

I didn't want to mope around anymore. I wouldn't let him scare me like that, I wouldn't let it keep me indoors. I decided to change into my workout clothes and headed to my car. It would only take 10 or 15 minutes to walk, but it was dark, and I was alone. So I decided to drive to the gym, it only took about 5 minutes. I walked into the gym room and stopped right in my tracks when I saw him. Someone I was actually happy to see. Dimitri.

He was with another man, Ivan, I recognised him. He was using one of the arm weight machines, I don't know what it was called. But damn, did he look good. He wore grey joggers and a black, sleeveless top. As he worked the machine, I could the see the muscles in his arms and shoulders flexing and moving. He stopped and looked up at me, as if sensing I was there. He quickly said something to Ivan and strolled over towards me.

I closed my mouth before he picked it up off the floor for me.

"Hey, Comrade!" I said, a little too excitedly. He gave me butterflies whenever I saw him.

"Hey Roza." He said, as he leaned down and gave me a small hug. "Are you okay?" he whispered into to my ear. I knew he was asking about Zi.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for asking" I whispered back as we pulled away.

"You're still not going to tell me who he is, are you?" he asked, raising one eyebrow. I liked it when he did that.

I groaned. "No Comrade, I can't, remember?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. I found myself wanting to touch it, to run my fingers through it too. I flushed, embarrassed that I'd just had that thought. He regarded me curiously, and I think he was about to ask, but a voice interrupted us.

"Rose?" A girl spoke. I turned and saw Viktoria standing there, looking between Dimitri and I.

"Viktoria, hey." I said. I was just about to introduce her to Dimitri when I saw him frowning, looking at Viktoria and I. We all kind of stood confused for a moment, when Dimitri spoke up.

"You two know each other?" He asked the question, directed at Viktoria.

"Yeah, how do you know her?" Viktoria replied, I was lost at this point.

"Okay, will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" I looked between Dimitri and Viktoria.

Finally, Dimitri spoke up. "Viktoria is my sister," He paused, "how do you two know each other?" He asked. His sister? And then it clicked. That's why she looked so familiar, they were brother and sister!

"Rose is one of the girls I told you about today, who I went to lunch with? How do you know her?" She said to Dimitri. He looked at me, unsure of what to say.

"He uhm… A week ago, I was attacked. He found me, in the woods." I told her. Her face filled with shock and horror.

" _You're_ the girl he found in the woods?" She asked, incredulously. I turned and frowned at him, kind of pissed that he'd blabbered about what happened to me.

"I didn't tell her what happened, only that I found you in the woods." He said, making my anger diminish.

More silence fell and I couldn't take it anymore. "Well, if this isn't awkward then I don't know what is."

Suddenly, Viktoria laughed, which made me laugh in return. I looked up at Dimitri and he was regarding me with a small smile.

"Well, I didn't come here for a social convention, so," I turned to Viktoria, "I'll see you tomorrow at lunch?" She nodded in return and walked off towards the cross trainers. I turned back to Dimitri. "And I'll see you…" I paused, I didn't know what to say.

"…Friday?" he said, clearing his throat, looking down at the ground.

"Friday?" I asked. Was he… was he asking me out?

"Yeah, we could hang out again," he paused, looking at me, "If you want… You don't want to, I'm sorry I shouldn't-

"I'd love to. See you on Friday, I mean" I interrupted him. He smiled and looked relieved that I'd said yes.

"Uhm, I'll call you then, at some point this week?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'll see you then." We said our goodbyes and I made my way over to the treadmills to do some running. I wasn't as good as I normally was, because of my ribs.

Lissa texted me saying she's hanging out in Adrian's room with him and Chris, and asked me to join. I quickly showered and changed when I got back, and made my way to Adrian's dorm. He lived in the same dorm as Lissa.

"Little girl" Adrian greeted me at his door. "Back for some more already?" he teased. I rolled my eyes and pushed past him. Lissa and Christian were sat on his bed, I opted for the sofa he had. I don't know how he managed to get that in here, but it was comfy as hell. And he was less likely to have had sex on it than the bed, though it wouldn't surprise me if he had.

After a while I decided to tell them that I saw Zi today, and what he said. Lissa looked shocked, Christian and Adrian looked pissed.

"What does he mean, he already had you once?" Christian asked.

"Be smart Chris, it means he beat her up once, he threatened to do it again" Adrian chimed in.

"That's not what he meant, Adrian, he was talking about-

Lissa suddenly stopped talking, and clamped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide, probably remembering that the boys didn't know the full extent of what had happened.

"What do you mean, Liss?" Christian asked her.

Her face went blank and she simply said "Nothing."

"Rose," he looked over to me, "what is she talking about?"

I groaned. How was I going to get out of this one? _I wasn't_ , was the correct answer. I sighed and decided to just tell the truth.

"Rose?" Adrian prompted me.

"I didn't tell you guys the whole truth, okay?"

"What do you mean?" Adrian asked, frowning.

I took a deep breath. "He didn't just beat me up…" I paused and sighed again, "… he assaulted me too." I paused again and saw the confused looks on their faces. "Sexually." I added, finally.

I saw the realisation of my words hit them, shock as disgust showing on their faces. I looked down and played with my hands, not wanting to look at them.

Christian shot up and broke the silence. "That fucking bastard! I'm going to fucking kill him!" he said as he paced the room. He suddenly turned and looked at me, shouting. "And you haven't reported him! Why, why wouldn't you report him after what he did?!"

I stood up and faced him. "You know why, Chris" I whispered.

"Seriously! You're not going to report him because of that? Go to somebody else! You have to!" He was still shouting at me. Lissa tried to calm him down but he shrugged her off.

"They won't believe me!" I shouted back, finally losing my calm.

"You're being fucking stupid, Rose! He raped you for fuck sake!" He yelled, staring at me.

"You don't think I fucking know that?!" I yelled and ran past him, out of the room. I didn't want them to see me cry. I ran out of the building when I heard footsteps behind me.

"Little girl, wait up!" He shouted. "Jesus Christ, you're fast." He said, finally catching up to me. He followed me in silence as we entered my building and ran up the stairs. Finally, we reached the outside of my room when he grabbed my arm and stopped me from going inside.

"Rose, I don't know what to say…" He trailed off.

"You don't have to say anything, Adrian." I told him. He sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair, looking at me.

After a couple seconds he grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around his back and rested my head on his chest, letting the sobs that had been building up come out.

"Shh, shh. I'm so sorry Rose, for what he did… Shh," he whispered as he stroked my hair. Adrian was an ass sometimes, but also knew when I needed someone.

I don't know how long we stood like that, but I eventually stopped crying and pulled away from him.

"You must hate me, for all the inappropriate jokes I make." He said, looking guilty.

"Nah, it wouldn't be normal if you didn't," I paused as he looked at me, "and that's all I want. For everything to be normal." I admitted to him.

I told him I wanted to go to sleep, he leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead, and we said our goodnights.

That night, once again, I cried myself to sleep, and dreamt of hands clawing and scratching at my legs, red eyes looking down at me.


	5. Chapter 5

RPOV

It was finally Friday. Tonight I was going out with Dimitri. He'd called me on Wednesday and we agreed that we'd go bowling tonight, instead of just a typical dinner date. I liked bowling, and I knew Dimitri would be a little bit of competition for me.

I still hadn't spoken to Christian since Monday. _I miss him_ , I thought to myself. We'd never gone this long without speaking before. I knew he thought I was an idiot, hell, I knew I was being an idiot. I'd contemplated telling Dimitri who he was, but I didn't want him to get hurt because of me. Zi had text me a few times too, saying stuff like _I can't wait to see you again, baby_ , and asking if I wanted to meet up with him, like nothing was wrong. No, I don't want to fucking meet up with you.

I also suffered from night terrors every night. I'd wake up, screaming and thrashing. Each night was the same dream, hands clawing at me, his eyes were red instead of blue, and he'd smile down as he took me, nothing I could do to fight him off.

There was a knock on my door, Lissa. We left and went to our last classes for the month. It was the start of Christmas break today. Thankfully we only had a two hour lecture. Feeling giddy as I walked, I was looking forward to tonight, for our… What was it? A date? I wasn't sure. Either way, I knew it would be fun.

DPOV

I was sat at my desk in the office, Ivan sat at his desk behind me when he shouted at someone who had just walked through the door.

"Dashkov!" Dashkov was an officer, he'd been off for almost two weeks though, I didn't know why. He strolled over to us and stopped at our desks with a smirk on his face. He was an alright guy I suppose, kind of a dick sometimes.

"Where have you been man?" Ivan asked him.

"Oh, I took some time off, to visit my family. Just got back last night." He replied, arms crossed over his chest.

Looking at him, I realised he had a pink line going over his eye. Ivan noticed it too, he whistled and said, "What happened to your face man? Things get too kinky with a lady?" He waggled his eyebrows.

"You could say that, yeah" He laughed. Just then we got a call saying a body had been found in the woods somewhere. We grabbed our stuff and left.

It was pretty gruesome. A woman, early twenties from what I could tell. Her clothes were torn, thighs covered in scratches. I winced, it reminded me of when I found Rose, not far from the spot I'm standing in now. A thought suddenly occurred to me, could the person who had attacked rose, done this too?

The only difference was this girl's throat had been sliced open. Blood had dried all the down the front of her body. The cut was clean, probably done with a knife of some sort. Her eyes were wide open, a look of horror permanently etched on her face.

We finished off our work there, gathering as much evidence as we could, which was very little, and went back to the office.

I felt bad about being excited to meet up with Rose tonight, considering we'd just found a women, dead. But I couldn't help it. The thought of her brightened my day, and when I actually see her? There weren't any words for how happy I felt.

RPOV

"Are you sure you don't want to come home with me and Christian for Christmas, Rose?" Lissa asked me again. We were sat in my room as I was getting ready for tonight.

For the past two years, Christian and I spent Christmas here, on campus. I stayed because I had no clue where my mother was, I didn't have a home to go back to. Christian stayed because the only home he could go back to was his Aunts, and he thought she was a pain in the arse. His parents were dead, they were killed by a random mugger when he was a little boy. I think that's why we bonded so well, we knew what it was like to have no parents, dead or alive. This year however, Christian was going to Lissa's, to spend Christmas with her and her family. They were leaving in two hours, Adrian had already gone home earlier today.

I sighed. "No thanks Liss, I'm not sure Christian would want me there. Besides, I got a 2 week paid placement at the hospital, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Fine, but call me all the time okay? I worry about you, being here all by yourself." She said, frowning slightly.

"I will, besides, Viktoria and Dimitri are here, I'll probably just see them" I said, trying to make her less worried. It seemed to work.

After I'd showered and dried my hair, I got dressed. I opted for some high-waisted white skinny jeans this time, with an oversized light grey sweater, that hung off my left shoulder, exposing my body art slightly. I also just wore my Vans, considering we were only going bowling.

"Oh God" I said as I realised. "I'm going to have to wear those ugly bowling shoes." I said, in totally horror. Lissa just laughed at me.

After putting a little lip gloss on, along with my leather jacket, I was ready to go. I was meeting him at the campus entrance, and we decided we'd walk. It would only take 15 minutes. I didn't even really need a car to be honest, I always walked everywhere.

Lissa and I parted ways after we left my building, wishing each other a happy Christmas. She headed back to her building and I made my way to the gates. My heart fluttered when I saw him standing, leaning against the wall waiting for me. He looked up at me, and smiled broadly, making the butterflies in my stomach go crazy. It was weird, I didn't think I'd ever be able to feel like this with a man after what happened, and especially so soon. But here I was, grinning from ear to ear like a complete moron.

"Hey, Comrade." I said, smiling at him.

"Hello Roza." He said, as he leaned down and kissed my cheek softly. Shit, my heart was beating so fast, it'd be a miracle if he didn't hear it.

"You ready?" he asked me. I nodded in reply and we started walking, side by side.

"You look beautiful, by the way" he said, looking down at me.

"Oh, in this," I pulled at my sweater, "this is nothing." I tried to say casually.

"Well, if that's nothing, then you must be blinding in… something." He trailed off. I blushed and look down at the ground.

"I like it when you blush" He whispered. I looked at him and saw him smiling at me, which made me blush even more.

Bowling was fun. We both had to wear those ugly shoes, and seeing sexy Dimitri in those, I couldn't help but laugh.

"You think this is funny?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He quickly reached forward and started tickling me. "You think it's funny?" He asked again, both of us laughing as he continued his torture on me.

"Please, stop. I'm sorry, it's not funny!" I said, crying and begging him. He stopped tickling me, but kept his arms around my waist. Mmm, I liked being in his arms, I decided.

We were just stood, looking and smiling at each. He leaned down again and gave me another kiss on the cheek before letting me go.

We had some major competition with each other bowling. I heckled him as he took his turns, and he did the same to me. Eventually, it was really close but he won by a few more points. I crossed my arms and pouted at him, making him laugh at me.

"Don't pout, Roza, you'd hate me if I let you win on purpose." He said. Damn him, he was right and he knew it.

We were both starving so we sat at one of the tables and ordered some burgers and fries. God, it was delicious. I devoured it all, and stole a couple of his fries too.

"I don't think I've ever seen a girl eat as much as you." He noted. I flushed with embarrassment, and looked down at the table. He leaned over, placed his hand under my chin and lifted my head so I was looking at him.

"That's a good thing, Roza. I hate when girls order a salad and barely even touch it." I smiled at him.

"Yeah, I hate that too." I said and he chuckled. We sat there for another hour and had a couple drinks, laughing and chatting.

At about 12am, he walked me back to my dorm, reaching cover as it just started raining. I fished around in my bag for my keys, but I couldn't find them.

"Dammit" I muttered under my breath.

"What's wrong?" He asked me.

"I can't find my keys." I said as I tipped the contents of my bag on the floor. They weren't there. And then I remembered. They were on my desk, in my excitement to meet Dimitri, I rushed out of the room and left them in there.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed. "I left them in my room, I'm locked out."

"Can't you get admin people to let you in?" he asked.

"No, they're not here on nights. And even if they were, I can't get into my room, the door locks automatically." I swore under my breath again.

"Well, you can come at stay at mine if you like?" The thought of spending the night at Dimitris gave me flutters in my stomach.

"Oh, I don't want to trouble you-

"Rose, what else are you going to do? All your friends have gone, and you're locked out." He interrupted me.

He was right, I had nowhere else to go. And even if I did, I'd still pick Dimitri's. "Yeah, okay, thanks." He grabbed my hand and we started running. The rain was coming down heavy now. Dimitri said he lived a twenty minute walk away, but because we ran we got there in ten.

We were both soaking and panting when we reached his apartment. It was nice inside, clean and spacious. I turned and looked at him as he closed the door, both of us gasping for air, dripping wet. I started laughing, this was just the perfect ending to a first date _. If it was a date_ , I thought.

He laughed with me, and as we stood there, looking at each other, a wave of desire hit and rolled over me. He was so kind and not to mention, the most attractive guy I've ever seen. I wanted him, I wanted him to kiss me. And I could see it in his eyes, he wanted to kiss me.

I dropped my bag on the floor and took a step forward towards him. He stared at me for a second and then quickly closed the space between us. He grabbed my soaking wet face in his hands and pressed his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and kissed him back, my hands travelled up his body and settled, wrapped around his neck. One of his hands moved to tangle in my wet hair, the other went down to my waist and pulled me closer to him. Our tongues brushed lightly, and I wanted more. I allowed him access into my mouth, and our tongues tangled together as we kissed. I could feel the heat building up below my stomach. I moaned into his mouth, and I felt the vibrations low in his throat as he moaned in return.

We broke away from each other, needing to breathe again. He leaned his forehead against mine and whispered, "Roza…"

Just then I heard claws clapping on the wood floor. Dimitri let go of me and said "Brace yourself."

The biggest dog I have ever seen came bounding round the corner and ran straight towards us. Dimitri put his body in front of mine just as the dog jumped up, wagging her tail.

"Hey girl" Dimitri said as he stroked his dog. He managed to calm her down and got her to sit.

"What's her name again?" I asked.

"Nikita" he replied, smiling up at me from where he was crouched on the floor. I crouched down next to him and started playing and stroking Nikita. I spoke softly to her, rubbing her ears. She lay down and rolled over, so I started rubbing her belly.

"She likes you." He said, smiling at me. I smiled back and continued playing with his dog. Dimitri got up and went into another room. He came back with towels so we could dry off. My clothes were soaked though.

"You can shower if you want, I'll find you something to wear." I watched him walk into his bedroom. He left the door open, and looking in I could see him peeling his shirt off. Oh my God. He pulled it up and over his head, his back to me. He had a damn sexy back, muscles and everything. I think I might collapse if I saw his front. He went out of my line of sight and I decided to turn around, because I was kind of perving on him.

He came back out, still shirtless. My mouth almost hit the floor. As I suspected, his front was just as nice as his back, with chest and abdominal muscles. He handed me a fresh towel, and told me to just rummage through his wardrobe when I was done because he didn't know what of his clothes to get for me. I had to advert my eyes or else I would've just been standing there, staring at his body. I mumbled a thanks and headed into the bathroom adjacent to his bedroom and took a shower. His shower was wonderful, it was like a power shower, and I didn't want to get out.

Finally, I did, and I wandered over to his wardrobe, just my towel wrapped around me. I picked a random grey t shirt that was way too big on me, but I loved it. None of his pants were going to fit me. Hmm. I grabbed a pair of his boxers and put them on, after rolling them up a couple times, they finally sat on my hips, not falling down.

DPOV

I was sat on the sofa in my living room, after drying off and changing into a fresh T-shirt and pants, when I heard the bathroom door open. I looked up, my bedroom door was still open slightly. I saw her walk past, in just a towel, feelings stirred deep within me. I heard her rummaging through my wardrobe, and after a few minutes she wandered over to the mirror, back in my line of sight. She was wearing my grey T-shirt and a pair of my black boxers, rolled up slightly. Holy shit. This woman was amazing. I quickly looked away before she caught me staring at her and tried to think of something boring and mundane, before something happened downstairs, if you know what I mean.

She cleared her throat and I looked over at her. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed and a slight smile on her face. "The T-shirt is too big, but that's fine with me. I couldn't find any pants that would even remotely fit me though." She said as she sauntered over to me. She sat down on the other sofa. The sofas where shaped like an L, and they were white and comfy as hell. I watched as she lifted her bare legs and stretched them out on the couch, her back resting against the arm.

My thoughts travelled back to the kiss we shared not so long ago. Her lips were so soft against mine, and the way she moaned into my mouth. I groaned internally, and felt my pants begin to stiffen.

Shit, _don't think about it_ , I told myself. Think about _… fuck, her mouth felt good._

Stop thinking about it!

"So, what do you want to do?" She asked, looking over at me, smiling. _There's loads of things I want to do to you_ , I thought _. I'd kiss you, your neck, your breasts_ …

"Dimitri?" She asked. Shit, I realised I hadn't replied.

"Oh, um, we could watch a movie, if you like?" I showed her my drawer full of DVD's and went to make us some hot chocolate while she chose a film.

Just then there was a knock at my door. Who the hell was knocking at this time? It was 1am for God sake. I strolled past Rose, who gave me a questioning look, and shrugged at her.

I wish I never opened the door.

"Dimka!" She said, trying to wrap her arms around me in a hug. I pushed her away and she stepped past me into my apartment.

"Tasha, what are you doing here?" I asked her, frowning. I looked over at Rose, who was frowning, looking confused. Tasha hadn't noticed her sitting there yet. She turned to look at me, and placed a hand on my arm.

"I came here to see you, silly. I missed you baby." She purred, stroking my skin. I shrugged her off me.

"Tasha, we broke up remember?" I told her. What was she thinking, coming here at 1am. It was then that she noticed Rose, who looked kind of pissed.

"Who the fuck is she?" Tasha demanded. "Are you cheating on me, Dimitri?"

"Cheating on you? We're not together anymore!" I said, trying to remain calm.

"Dimitri, what's going on?" Rose chimed in, as she stood now, arms crossed over her chest defensively. Nikita was stood next to her, growling slightly at Tasha. She never liked her.

"She's wearing your clothes!" Tasha shouted at me, and then stalked towards Rose. "You stay away from my boyfriend you little slut!" She shouted angrily. And the she did something I would never forgive her for. She raised her hand and slapped Rose, hard across the face. That was it. My control snapped.

"Tasha!" I shouted and walked over, standing in front of Rose just as she was about to retaliate. They both jumped a little when I shouted, I could be intimidating if I wanted to be. Of course, I'd never hurt a woman, but coming here in the middle of the night, and slapping Rose? I was fucking pissed off.

"Leave. Now." I told her, lowering my voice, but sounding deadly.

"Dimka, please-

"No, DO NOT 'Dimka, please' me." I shouted. "I broke up with you one month ago. We are not getting back together. I do not have any interest in you. You have no right to barge in my home, in the middle of the night and assault my guest. Now leave, before I arrest you for assault." I told her one final time.

She looked at Rose, and then at me and then turned on her heel and headed towards the front door. Just before leaving she turned back to me. "You know, one day, you're going to come crawling back to me, and I won't do it. I won't take you back."

"Oh Tasha, that will never happen." I said, before slamming the door in her face and locking it.

I turned back and walked over to Rose, stopping in front of her. She still stood with her arms crossed, eyebrows raised, and a red mark on her cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Roza." I explained that Tasha was my ex, and that I was never really interested in her. I explained how fucking crazy she was too.

She uncrossed her arms and looked down at the ground. Finally, she looked up. "You don't have to apologise. It's not your fault your psycho ex showed up at your door in the middle of the night and bitch slapped me." I closed the space between us and took her in my arms. She wrapped her arms around my waist and leaned her head against my chest. I liked having her in my arms.

"You know," she mumbled, "It's lucky you came and stood in front of me. I was about to go mental on her ass." I chuckled.

"I know, I knew you'd fight back. That's one of the reasons I stood in front of you. I wouldn't be a responsible adult if I let a cat fight happen."

She laughed into my chest. "What was the other reason?" She asked, looking up at me.

I shrugged and said, "If somebody hits you, no matter who, I'm going to stand in front of you, to protect you. If it was a guy, I would've beat the shit out of him" I told her.

She smiled and me, and leaned up, closing her eyes. I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers once again. The kiss was softer this time, and slower. It was nice. She pulled away from and picked up a DVD.

"I want to watch this" She said, holding up one of the Paranormal Activity movies. I hadn't seen it, it wasn't even mine. Ivan had stayed over once and left it here.

I went back to the kitchen to make our hot chocolates, and sat down next to her on the sofa. She leaned into my side, so I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

I laughed as she once again, hid her face in my chest whenever something meant to be scary happened. "What was the point of picking a scary film, if you hide every time something scary happens?" I asked her, still laughing slightly.

She shrugged and said something that made my heart flutter. "I figured it was a good excuse to cuddle into you." She said shyly, peaking at me from under her long lashes.

I chuckled. "Oh, Roza. You don't need an excuse to cuddle into me." I told her, making her smile.

Half an hour later, she was asleep in my arms, breathing deeply. I turned off the TV and picked her up, careful not to wake her. I carried her into my bedroom and gently set her on the bed, covering her with the duvet. I was just about to pull away so I could grab a blanket and sleep on the couch, when she stirred and grabbed my arm.

"Stay with me." She mumbled, sleepily.

"Roza, I don't want to do anything you're not comfortable with." I told her.

"I want you to stay with me." She told me again, this time looking into my eyes. She lifted up the duvet in a sign for me to get in.

"Do you mind if I sleep in my boxers?" I asked her.

"Of course not, Comrade. I'd be a hypocrite if I did." I chuckled at her reply, she looked adorable in my boxers. I stripped off my clothes and climbed into bed. She rolled into me, and I fell asleep with my arms wrapped around her soft body.


	6. Chapter 6

RPOV

He was coming for me again. His hands reaching out, trying to grasp me. I ran, but it was dark, I couldn't see anything. I tripped on something and looked back down the way I came. His red eyes were getting larger, glowing brighter as he approached me. He snatched my legs in his hands and yanked me towards him. I screamed. Over and over I screamed. I kicked my legs and flailed my arms, but he was too strong. His hands crawled up my legs, over my skin like spiders. I felt the pain start again. He was cutting my thighs with his nails, scratching them. I screamed, I kept screaming. He was hovering over me now, arms on my shoulder, shaking me. I lashed out and smacked him in the face.

"Rose!" he shouted. That voice…

I kept screaming and pushing him away from me.

"Rose! It's me! Wake up, please! It's Dimitri" the voice said. Dimitri. I knew him.

Slowly, my vision came to me. I was sat up in bed, and Dimitri was sat in front me. His lip was bleeding, and he had a red mark on his cheek.

"Dimitri?" I whispered.

"Yes, it's me. You're okay. Nothing's going to hurt you." He said as he calmly held my hand, massaging my hand with his fingers. I looked up at him again. Oh God, I must've hit him.

I put my hand over my mouth in shock. "Oh my God, did I hurt you? I'm so sorry Dimitri. He was over me, he was going to…" I trailed off as a sob escaped from me.

Dimitri took me in arms and held me against his chest, stroking my hair, speaking calmly in Russian. After ten minutes, I'd finally calmed down. I looked up at him, his lip still bleeding slightly. I got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. I picked up a small cloth and soaked it with warm water. I went back into the bedroom, and after his initial protests, I cleaned his lip with the cloth. He gasped slightly as my hand brushed a strand of his hair away from his face. I apologised again for hitting him.

"It's okay, Roza. It was only an accident."

"Well, now we can both have bruised cheeks." I joked, and received a small laugh in return. Once I was done cleaning his mouth, I pulled him into the kitchen and made him sit on one of the island stools. I went to the freezer, got some ice and wrapped it in a tea towel, and held to his face.

"There's really no need, I'm fine." He protested.

"Shush Comrade, it's the least I can do." I told him sternly.

"Yes, Ma'am." He replied, smiling at me.

After a few more minutes, I went to turn around so I could get rid of the ice pack, but Dimitri grabbed one my wrists and pulled me back to him, his other hand going up to cup my face, and he planted a small, soft kiss on my lips.

"Thank you, Roza" he smiled at me. I smiled back and leaned into him, placing my mouth on his. I dropped the ice pack and cupped his face with my hands. His arms went around my waist as he pulled me tightly to him, his legs on either side of my body.

We stayed like that for a while, kissing slowly and softly, but I felt the heat and desire build up in me again. I brushed my tongue against his, and softly caught his bottom lip between my teeth, I bit down slightly, making him moan. I pressed my mouth back on his, hard. He put his hand in my hair and grabbed at it slightly, his other hand wandered up and down my back, just grazing the top of butt a little.

I arched my body into his still shirtless torso, and moaned into his mouth as our tongues danced with one another again. He couldn't take it anymore, his hands went down and grabbed my ass. He hoisted me up so I was sat on his lap, straddling him.

"Just tell me anytime you want to stop, Roza." He murmured against my lips. My heart fluttered. He was so thoughtful, worried about what I want and don't want. I wasn't ready to have to sex yet, and I didn't want to lead him on into think I was.

"I'm not ready to do any more than this." I told him, as he trailed kisses down my jaw, moving down to my neck. He lifted his head to look me in the eye.

"Is this okay? Kissing you like this? It's not too much is it? Tell me if it is" he whispered, his voice worried, but laced with lust and desire. I knew he wanted more, I could feel him, hard underneath me, but he respected me, and he knew I wasn't ready, so he wouldn't push me.

"This is perfect" I smiled, running my fingers through his hair and pulling him towards me. We kissed like that for a while, but I eventually broke away, making him groan. I didn't want to tease him too much, it wasn't fair.

I started to cook us some breakfast and he wandered into the bedroom so he could take a shower. I noticed he had an iPod dock, so I decided to plug mine in and play some music, singing and dancing as I cooked.

"Boo!" A female voice shouted from behind me.

I screamed and dropped the spatula I was holding, and spun around quickly, grabbing a knife in the process, in case I needed to defend myself. There was a women standing before me, looking confused. She seemed older, like in her 40's.

"Oh, I thought-

"Who are you?" I demanded, holding the knife out. "Look, if you're another one of Dimitris exes then just stay away from me, okay? I've had enough crazy to last me for the week."

Just then Dimitri came bursting out of the bedroom, soaking wet in just a towel.

DPOV

I was standing in the shower, enjoying the warm water cascade over me, when I heard Rose scream. I shut the water off, wrapped myself in a towel and ran out into the kitchen.

I saw Rose, looking scared but angry, clutching a knife in her hand, and across the room, I saw my mother.

"Mama, what are you doing here?" I asked her, dumbfounded.

"I was nearby, so I thought I'd pop in. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer, and I heard the music so I assumed it was you in here. I let myself in with the spare key."

"Wait," Rose spoke, "you're his mother?" She turned to look at me. "She's your mother?" She asked me.

"Yes, she is." I replied. She looked horrified.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." She said, putting the knife on the counter. "I thought… I don't know. I'm sorry." She apologised again.

"It's quite alright." My mother said, smiling at Roza. "It was my fault, I shouldn't have barged in and scared the living daylights out of you."

I cleared my throat, this isn't how I imagined Rose and my mother would meet.

"Mama, this is Rose. Rose, this is my mother." I said, introducing them properly.

My mother walked over to Rose and pulled her into a hug. "It's lovely to meet you, Rose." She said. Rose looked surprised but returned the hug and mumbled a hello.

She looked down at herself, realising she was still only dressed in my top and boxers.

"Uhm… I'm going to go… put some pants on." She trailed off. She walked past me and went into the bedroom. I looked towards my mother, who raised an eyebrow at me, smiling.

"What?" I asked.

"You have a girl over Dimka?" My family were so nosey sometimes.

I groaned. "It's not what you think… sort of." I replied.

"Well, what is it?" She said, as she resumed cooking where Rose had left off.

"She was locked out her home, she had nowhere to go. What else was I supposed to do?" I replied, hoping she would let it drop.

"Okay, okay. But I have a feeling that's not all." She replied, raising her eyebrow again.

My mother stayed for breakfast, chatting idly with Rose and myself. I was glad they got on well already, despite the knife incident earlier.

After my mother left, Rose decided to go back to campus to see if she would be able to get into her room today.

"Call me if you need any help." I told her as we said goodbye.

Not long later, I was sat on the sofa with Nikita, stroking her soft fur when I heard shouts of frustration coming from the hall.

I opened the door, and a woman was stood in front of the neighbouring door. She had straight jet black hair, and dark blue eyes, and she was grunting with frustration, tipping the contents of her purse onto the floor.

"Uh, are you okay?" She jumped at the sound of my voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"Oh, no, it's okay. And yeah, I think I've left my keys in my apartment." She said, frowning. What was with women constantly forgetting their keys? "I guess I should call my landlord…but my phone is in my apartment too. Shit!" She exclaimed.

"Oh, well, would you like to come in and use my phone?" I asked her. I felt bad, I couldn't just leave her out here.

She looked up at me and smiled, thanking me.

Five minutes later she was done with the phone. "He said he could be here in 30 minutes to an hour."

 _An hour?_ I thought to myself. Sometimes it was a pain being the nice guy.

"Well, you're welcome to wait here if you have nowhere else…" I trailed off, hoping she did have somewhere else to go.

"Are you sure? That's very sweet of you." She replied as she walked over to me. "My name is Emily, Emily Mastrano." She offered her hand to me.

"Dimitri Belikov." I replied as I shook her hand. "So, you must be new here? I haven't seen you before."

"Oh, yes, I moved in yesterday. And I'm already locked out." She let out a little laugh. She looked up at me and smiled broadly.

An hour and a half later, the landlord finally showed up and let her into her place. She turned to me just before leaving.

"I'm so sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you, really. We'll have to go for coffee and bite sometime, my treat, as a thank you." She jumped up on her toes and gave me a hug, a one I didn't return. She gave a big smile as she left, if I didn't know any better, I'd say she was flirting.

Shit.

Five minutes later there was a knock at my door. God, I hoped it wasn't Emily.

It was Rose.

"Hey, I wasn't expecting you back. How'd it go?" I asked her, taking her into my arms.

"I have some bad news for you. I can't get into my room until Monday morning." Bad news? That sounded good to me.

"Why not?" I asked her as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

"They're going to have to change the lock on the door, and people who do that are only available through the week. So…" She paused, "do you mind if I stay here until Monday?"

"Of course not, Roza." I kissed the top of her hear, and nuzzled my face in her hair. Her hair was wonderful.

We decided we'd have a second date tonight. We would take Nikita for a walk, steering clear of the woods, and then I would cook for her.

It was wonderful, Nikita loved Rose, constantly wanting her attention and affection, which Rose was happy to comply.

I cooked us a nice meal, something Russian. She questioned it at first, but loved it in the end. We kissed some more too. I was always worried when we kissed, worried I would push her too far, unintentionally. I didn't want to force her into anything at all, and I didn't want her to think that I would.

It was 10pm, and I was laying on the coach, Rose cuddled into me on one side, Nikita on the other. I was content, I had my two favourite girls in the world, and I never wanted to let them go. Thinking about it now, I realised my feelings for Rose were so strong, considering I hadn't know her for very long. I'd never felt this way before, but I couldn't shake it. I didn't want to shake it. I cared for her, and I wanted to be the one to protect her, to spend her life with.

The next day Rose and I had breakfast, and went for a run, with Nikita of course. Viktoria had come over yesterday and gave Rose some of her clothes, so she could actually wear something that fit her.

We spent the rest of the day lounging around in my apartment, eating food and watching TV.

Soon enough, cuddling lead to kissing, which I was more than happy with. Rose was curled up on my side, her lips moving with mine. I let her make all the first moves, I didn't want to push her. He tongue brushed against my lip, and she deepened the kiss.

We kissed like that for a while, my jeans were tight around the crotch. Suddenly, she was on top of me, straddling me. She gave me the sexiest smile I have ever seen, leaned forward and kissed me again. I placed my hands on her hips as we kissed, tongues exploring each other's mouths. She started running her hands up my under my top, feeling my stomach and chest.

She moaned into my mouth. God, it was sexy when she did that. I rolled us over so I lay on top of her, she giggled and pulled my mouth back to hers, running her hands up and down my back. She tugged at the hem of my shirt, trying to pull it up.

"What are you doing?" I murmured against her lips.

"What do you think? I'm taking your top off." She mumbled back, mouth still on mine, tugging at my shirt again. This time I let her. She pulled it up and over my head, tossing it on the floor. I lay back down on top her, kissing her once more. Her lips tasted so good. I moved my mouth down to her jaw, then down to her neck, finding her sweet spot just under her ear. She let out a little gasp, and then a moan, running her hands through my hair. God I wanted her, I needed her.

Sighing, I pulled away from her. If we kept going, I wouldn't want to stop.

"What are you doing?" She asked, breathless, looking up at me.

"I'm stopping, before it goes too far." I responded, disappointed. I wanted her so badly, but I knew she wasn't ready.

"Maybe I don't want to stop…" She replied, her voice thick with desire.

"Roza, we don't have to do anything you don't want to do" I told her.

"I know, and I want to Dimitri." She sat up and pulled my face into her hands, pressing her lips against mine.

"Roza…" I whispered, pulling away from her, gripping her wrists with my hands.

"Dimitri, I want this, with you." She looked me in the eye, and pulled me to her once again, and this time I didn't pull away.

I pushed her back down on the couch, and my mouth assaulted hers. Our tongues danced together, her hands roamed over my body. I slipped my hands under her top, feeling her smooth skin under my fingers. She shifted so she could pull her top off over her head.

Both of our pants came off not long after, so we both lay there with only wearing our underwear.

God, she was beautiful, so beautiful it hurt. I moved my mouth to her neck again, trailing kisses down her, over her chest, and reaching her breasts. I unclipped her bra and let it fall to the floor. My mouth moved back to her breasts, taking her nipple in my mouth, sucking and biting it slightly. She moaned in pleasure and arched her body up. I did the same to the other nipple, and continued my journey downward. I'd reached the top of her panties, kissing her soft skin. I took the fabric of her panties between my teeth and looked up, with a devilish glint my eyes.

She was crying.

I instantly leapt off her and knelt by the sofa.

"Roza? Roza are you okay?" I asked frantically. What had I done wrong? Had I hurt her? Fuck!

"I'm sorry" She cried, "I'm so sorry."

"Roza, please, please tell me what's wrong. I'm so sorry, if I've hurt you-

"You haven't hurt me," she interrupted, "I just… I thought I was ready. But I'm not." She burst into tears again. I grabbed my top from the floor and pulled it over her head, so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable or vulnerable.

I pulled my pants back on, sat on the sofa and pulled her into my arms. She sobbed into my chest. I felt awful, this was my fault. I'd pushed her somehow, made her think she had to do this.

"Roza, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. I'm so sorry." Nikita jumped up on the coach and plopped her head into Roses lap. She put her hand on her head and stroked her ears.

Good girl, Nikita. She was so loyal and kind, and she could cheer anybody up.

"It's not your fault. It's mine. I thought I was ready. I was ready, I wanted it, but then I thought back, I saw him on me, I felt the pain…" She sobbed again.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here, I'm sorry." I stoked her hair, waiting for her to calm down again. "I should have known, I shouldn't have let it get this far. I'm sorry Roza."

She told me it wasn't my fault again, but I couldn't help but feel it was. I didn't say anything else, I just held her. Eventually, she started to drift off, so I put her to bed. Nikita occupied the foot of the bed. I knew Rose would be safe with my girl looking after her. I grabbed a blanket and headed for the couch, giving Rose the space she needed.


	7. Chapter 7

DPOV

It was 6pm on Monday and I'd finally finished work. It was pretty boring today, mainly paperwork. Rose had her first day as an intern at the hospital today, I hoped she was doing okay. I knew she would do well, she was dedicated in her mission to help people.

My mother answered the door to her home, I was having dinner here tonight, with the whole family, plus Ivan. I was excited and dreading it all at the same time. I love my family, but I knew my mother would have questions about Rose, and Sonya was heavily pregnant, and horribly hormonal.

As I suspected, as soon as my mother and I were alone, the questions started coming my way.

 _Who is she?_

 _How do you know her?_

 _Are you dating?_

"Her name is Rose Hathaway, she's 20, and a medical student at college. I know her because I found her in the woods a couple of weeks ago after being attacked, and I guess we are dating. We're taking it slow." I told my mother in one big go.

"Oh. Well, she seems very sweet. And she's very beautiful." She smiled at me, walked over to me and placed her hand on my cheek. "And, if she makes you happy, then I'm happy. That's all I want for you Dimka, to be happy."

"She does, she makes me very happy Mama." I smiled back at her. My mother was the nicest person I knew.

"Can I ask you something?" She looked at me, with a curious look.

"Of course, go ahead."

"When I accidentally frightened Rose, thinking she was you before I saw her, she mentioned having enough of your crazy exes. What was she talking about?"

"Oh," I cleared my throat, "Tasha stopped by my apartment in the middle of the night. And she slapped Rose across the face." I told her. I got pissed off every time I thought back to that. How dare she do that?

"What!" My mother exclaimed, "What was she thinking. Honestly, Dimka, I'm glad you broke up with her, I never had a good feeling about that one."

"Yeah I know. I wish I'd listened to you from the start."

At about 10pm, Ivan and I left to go back to my apartment. We were walking down the hall to my apartment when he spoke.

"So, how's it going with Rose? Have you fucked her yet?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"Ivan! Don't talk about her that way." I frowned at him.

"Sorry…But have you?" he looked at me sideways.

"No, we haven't, we're taking it slow, because of what happened…" I trailed off, not wanting to get into this with him. He wouldn't understand, he only likes to have sex with girls and that's it.

"Wait, so it could be like, years, until you get to have sex with her?" he asked, his face filled with shock and horror.

"Well, if it takes that long, then yes."

"Dude, I know she's nice and hot and everything, but you need to get laid, and you shouldn't wait years for that."

I frowned at him. "Not that it's any of your business, Ivan, but I'm the not one who hooks up with random girls for one night stands, that's all you. I actually like girls, and I like Rose. I'd wait forever if that's what it took." I told him sternly, ending this conversation.

"Fine, fine. Enjoy your sex-free life, man." He said, patting my back as we entered my apartment.

I grunted and he fell down on the couch, falling straight asleep. He'd been drinking, so he was staying here tonight.

"Oh, Dimitri, Hi!" I turned back around to face whoever had greeted me.

It was Emily. And she was dressed, if you could say that, in a pair of lace underwear and a tiny camisole top. I averted my eyes, not knowing where to look.

"Hey" I replied, looking down the hall.

"Fun night?" She asked me, leaning against her door frame.

"Uhm, yeah. Just had dinner with my family."

"Awh, that's nice. So when are you going to ask me out for dinner?" I looked at her in surprise, she had a sultry smile on her face.

"Oh," I cleared my throat, "I have a girlfriend, sort of. Sorry." I looked back to her, and she frowned slightly.

"Go figures. You're hot, it would surprise me if you didn't have a girlfriend." She said, bringing the smile back to her face. I smiled awkwardly back at her. Rose is going to kill me for standing talking to this women.

"So, what are you up to tomorrow?" She asked me, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Uh, I have work tomorrow." I told her.

"What do you do?"

"I'm a detective." I cleared my throat again, wanting this conversation to be over.

"Do you get any breaks?" _What was with the 20 questions?_

"Yeah, I get one at 11, why?"

"I still owe you a coffee." She winked at me.

"Oh, I don't think-

"So I'll see you tomorrow at 11. Goodnight!" She went back into her apartment and closed the door.

Fuck.

How was I going to get out of this? Would I even need to get out of it? She doesn't know where my work is, and we hadn't agreed to meet anywhere _. I hope she won't do anything about it_ , I thought to myself as I climbed into bed.

I thought back to the conversation. Why had she come out of her apartment anyway? Just to talk to me? She was so under dressed too.

Yep. Rose was definitely going to kill me.

RPOV

It was 9pm and I'd finally gotten back to my dorm after working in the hospital all day. 12 hours actually, I'd been working for 12 hours. I was so tired.

I decided to climb into bed and call Lissa, I hadn't really spoken to her since she left. She told me what she'd been up to over the weekend, her family really liked Christian. I told her about my weekend with Dimitri, and my first day of placement.

"I can't believe you spent the whole weekend with him!" She gushed over the phone.

"Yeah, it was nice."

"Nice? Rose, he's so hot, it must've been way more than _nice_?!" She exclaimed, giggling. I giggled back, it _was_ way more than nice, despite me bursting into tears last night. That was embarrassing. I was surprised to get a text from him today, I thought he'd never want to see me again.

Lissa then put Christian on the phone, I missed him. We talked for five minutes, he apologised for his outburst before he left. I was glad we made up.

After I said goodbye to Chris and Liss, I called Adrian too. We were on the phone for half an hour, honestly, this guy could talk for days on end.

"I miss you, little girl." He said as we said our byes.

"I miss you too, Adrian. Talk soon, bye!" I hung up smiling. I really loved my friends, I wish they were here.

Not long later, I got a text from Viktoria, saying she was bored and alone, so I decided to walk over to her dorm.

For the rest of the night we watched movies, ate sweets, popcorn, all kinds of crap, sugary food. We talks about boys too, though I didn't go into too much detail, considering the boy I was seeing was her brother. I figured she wouldn't want to hear how big his erection had felt between my legs.

"Please. Just please don't tell me all the details of your love life with my brother." She grimaced, and made a joke gagging noise. I giggled in return.

She told me she fancied her brothers friend, Ivan.

"What!" I exclaimed, "You like Ivan?"

"Yeah! He's so hot" She gushed.

"Isn't he like, a notorious womaniser?" She frowned and nodded.

"Well, just be careful with him, you don't want to get involved if he's not going to be serious." I told her, trying to look out for her.

"I know, I know. I'll be careful. I doubt he'd even like me, he only sees me as Dimka's baby sister." She frowned again.

"Well, next time you see him, you'll have to dress up and look hot" I told her, with a mouth full of popcorn.

Yeah, I knew all about how to be sexy.

"He's actually going to the bar tomorrow night…" She trailed off, looking deep in thought.

"Well, looks like we're going out tomorrow night" I told her. She looked at me, full of hope.

I slept in her bed that night, it was too late and I was too tired to walk back to my dorm.

Thank God for double beds.

I was finally allowed to go for a break the next day. Starving, I decided I'd quickly drive into town to get something nice to eat, instead of the crap they serve in the hospital café.

Donuts, here I come!

I walked into my favourite café, because everything they sell is delicious. I noticed him, my kind of boyfriend, sitting there with some girl. Some girl who happened to be stupidly fucking beautiful.

What the hell?

I contemplated what to do, I could leave, not cause a scene and ask him about it later. Or I could stomp over there right now and find out what the fuck was happening.

Obviously, in true Rose Hathaway fashion, I chose the latter.

I walked over to where they were sat, placed my hand on his shoulder and said his name.

He turned to look at me, eyes widening slightly, a look of shock and what I would say was guilt, crossed his face.

"Roza, what are you doing here?" He asked me, standing up and wrapping an arm around my waist.

Hmm, not what I expected him to do on his little date.

"Funny, I could ask you the same question." I said accusingly, raising my eyebrows at him. He gave me a small smile, looking guilty still.

"This is Em-

The women sat at the table shot up out of her chair, thrusting her hand towards me.

"Hi, I'm Emily Mastrano. You must be Rose." I took her hand and shook it.

"Yes, I am. So how do you know each other?" I asked.

"Emily just moved in across the hall from me." Dimitri said, squeezing my waist slightly.

"Yes, he was kind enough to let me stay in his apartment while I waited for the landlord after locking myself out." She said as she sat back down.

 _She was in his apartment?!_

"Oh was he? Well, Dimitri is very sweet," I turned to look up at him and continued, "and it seems this is becoming quite a habit of his." I shot him an accusing glare.

He pulled up a chair so we could both sit down at the table.

"Oh yes, I was there for quite a while, waiting for my landlord." I looked up at her and saw she was smirking at me.

This bitch knew what she was doing.

"I thought I'd grab a coffee with him, my treat, for being so kind." She battered her eyelashes as she smiled at him. Eurgh. I'm going to punch this chick if she wasn't careful.

Ten minutes of bitchiness later, I had to leave if I was going to grab some food and get back to the hospital on time. I stood up to go, Dimitri stood up with me.

"I'll see you tonight?" He asked me, hope in his eyes.

"Sure thing, Comrade." I stood up on my toes, deciding to show this women that he was with me. He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck in big show of PDA, and he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me tighter.

I pulled away from him after a couple of seconds. "I'll see you tonight." I winked.

I turned back to her, "It was nice to meet you Emma." I gave her my biggest smile.

"It's Emily" She said, fake smiling back, annoyed by my comment.

"Oh, oops." I gave Dimitri one last kiss before heading back to the hospital.

Several hours later, I was sat in Viktoria's room, helping her decide what to wear for tonight. I went with the usual jeans and tee combo, not bothering to get too dressed up. Viktoria wore my plain black midi skirt, with a grey, sleeveless loose top tucked in. Her hair was down in soft waves, and I put a little mascara and pink lipstick on her. She looked amazing.

We had a couple of drinks in the bar, when she spotted Ivan. She asked me if she looked okay, and with my approval she approached him. I felt proud, seeing the way he noticed her for the first time probably. I hoped he wouldn't just use and abuse her. I might have words with him.

I was sat at the bar on my own, when I heard her annoying voice.

"Rose." I turned in my seat, to look at the annoyingly pretty Emily.

"Emily." I replied.

"You should stay away from him." She said, all the fake niceness and smiling gone now.

"Excuse me?" I whispered, angry.

"Dimitri. He deserves much better than you." She said, raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms defensively.

I laughed in her face. "And you think you're the one he deserves?" I asked her, still chuckling.

"Yes, I can give him what he wants."

"And what's that?" I asked, curious as to what her answer might be.

"Sex."

I almost choked on my drink. What was she talking about?

"Excuse me?! I asked her again, raising my voice slightly. This bitch was pissing me off now.

"I don't know why, maybe because you're crazy, but I know that you're not giving him sex. And sooner or later, he's going to want it. And I'll be there, right across the hall, waiting to give it him."

I slammed my drink on the bar, making her jump slightly. How the hell did she know about our sex life? Had he spoken to her about this?

"You listen to me, you annoying cow. Leave him alone, he doesn't want you, he's not interested in you."

This time she laughed. "Actually, I disagree. He couldn't look away when I was standing with him in my underwear."

She was lying. He wouldn't stand with her if she was only wearing her underwear.

I got up, grabbed my bag, and told her again to leave us alone, or else. I had to leave, before I did something I probably wouldn't regret.

I walked over to Viktoria, told her goodbye and left to walk to Dimitri's apartment.

DPOV

I was waiting for Rose to come over from the bar at some point tonight. I was still a little worried that she would be mad at me for not telling her about Emily.

She had showed up at my work, at 11am on the dot, and refused to take no for an answer. We went for coffee, hoping it would be quick. I spent the entire time gushing about Rose, hoe beautiful and funny and perfect she was, hoping Emily would get it into her head that I wasn't interested in her. That's when Rose walked in. Life must hate me.

There was a knock at my door around 11pm. I answered and found a stormy looking Roza. She barged past me and started shouting.

"How dare you! How dare you talk to her about our sex life!" She yelled. What was she talking about?

"Roza, slow down. I don't know what you're talking about." I said, approaching her and putting my hands on her waist. She shrugged me off.

"Oh don't play all coy and innocent Dimitri, how else would she know?" She shouted again, standing arms crossed, staring at me fiercely.

"Know what? What are you talking about?" I asked her again, trying to approach her.

She took a step back and held out her hand, a motion for me to not move closer. "I'm talking about Emily! I just saw your new girlfriend at the bar, and she told me she could give you what I couldn't, sex!"

What the fuck?

"She said that to you?" I asked, frowning.

"Yes, yes she did. So are you going to admit it?" She looked at me defiantly.

"No, because I haven't spoken to her about our sex life!" I said, my voice raising slightly as I started to lose my patience, crossing my arms too.

Rose faltered a little. "You didn't?" She asked, disbelieving.

"No, I didn't. Why would I talk to her about that?"

"Well, she knew I wasn't having sex with you somehow, I assumed you'd told her…" She trailed off, realising she probably shouldn't have jumped to conclusions.

"Well, I didn't. " I raised an eyebrow at her.

Her body sagged with defeat, "I'm sorry, Dimitri. I shouldn't have assumed it was you." I approached her again, this time she let me wrap my arms around her. She wrapped hers around my waist in return, and leaned her head against my chest.

"It's okay, Roza. I would've done the same." I mumbled into her hair.

"But then how did she know?" She asked me.

"She probably just made it up, to try and hurt you."

"No, it wasn't like that. She knew, Dimitri. She practically said you'd cheat on me with her because you'd get sexually frustrated with me." She frowned.

"Hey," I put my hand under her jaw and lifted her chin up so she would look at me, "I would never, never cheat on you, Roza. I know you want to take it slow, and I'll wait forever, if that's what it takes to be with. I don't just want to be with you for sex Rose, I care about you. I…" _I'm in love with you_ , I thought to myself.

I decided not tell her that, fearing she wouldn't be ready to hear it.

She sighed into my chest. "I care about you too, Dimitri. I don't want to lose you over this"

"And you won't, milaya" I kissed the top of her head. I heard her smile. She liked it when I used Russian terms of endearment.

"I knew she was lying about her being with you in her underwear." She chuckled.

I froze. She was standing in the hall in very little clothing.

Rose noticed my body had frozen and pulled away from me.

"She was lying, right?" she raised her eyebrows accusingly.

"Not exactly. Before you get mad," I quickly said as she prepared a tirade for me, "let me explain. I came home last night with Ivan, and she came out in very little clothing, and started talking to me."

"She said you couldn't keep your eyes off her…" She said suspiciously.

"I think you should stop listening to this women, Roza. I barely looked at her. I was actually thinking about you, I knew you'd be pissed off if you knew" I gave her a small smile, hoping this wouldn't be another fight.

She sighed and leaned back into me. "You're right. I shouldn't listen to her, I'm sorry."

Wanting to lighten the mood a little, I wrapped my arms around her butt, and lifted her into the air. She squealed and put her hands on my face, smiling down at me. She leaned her head down and kissed me. I broke away and let her body slide down mine, until her feet were on the ground again. I pulled her face into my hands and pressed my lips to hers again.

We made out on the bed for some time, not doing anything more than kissing, and the occasional roaming of hands.

After a little while, we both fell asleep, with my arms wrapped around her, protecting her from the world.


	8. Chapter 8

RPOV

I woke up to the sound of music coming from the kitchen, and I smelled something delicious. Bacon. I smelled bacon. Mmm.

I got up out of bed, wearing one of Dimitris tops and boxers again, and wandered into the kitchen. I found him there, cooking bacon, eggs and sausages in the pans. Nikita was sat on the floor next to him, begging him for food.

I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging his back. He put the spatula down and turned to face me, wrapping his arms around me too. He leaned down and pressed a kiss into my hair.

"Good morning, beautiful." He smiled at me.

"Morning, Comrade. Is this for me?" I asked, pointing to the cooking food as my stomach growled.

"It's for us." He chuckled, as he ran his fingers through my hair.

Half an hour later and I was stuffed. I ate all of my food and finished off his. He still couldn't get over how much I could eat.

"What are you doing on Saturday?" Dimitri asked me.

"Um, nothing. Why?"

"Nothing? You're not doing anything on Christmas day?" he asked incredulously.

Shit, I'd forgotten Saturday was Christmas day.

"Nope, normally I spend it with Christian, but he isn't here."

"What about your mother? Doesn't she come to see you or something?"

I snorted. "No she doesn't, she's too busy with her perfect life God knows where."

I looked up at him where he sat across from me, he looked like he was contemplating something. Finally, he spoke. "Would you like to spend Christmas with me, and my family?"

After giving it some thought I'd decided to accept his offer. I didn't want to be alone on Christmas, that's just depressing.

The next few days went quickly. I continued working at the hospital, learning how to do certain procedures and stuff, and Dimitri was busy at work. I hung out with Viktoria occasionally too. Eventually, it was Christmas day, and I was just finishing getting ready. I decided to braid my hair into a crown braid, instead of wearing it down like I always do. I wore a tight white midi dress with spaghetti straps, showing off my curves, boobs and legs, but still looking classy.

I met Dimitri in the campus car park, and I couldn't help but smile when I saw his reaction.

"Roza…" he breathed, eyes roaming over my body. God, the way this man looks at me stirred feeling deep in my stomach.

"See something you like?" I grinned and raised my brows at him.

"Lots" he chuckled and bent down, "you look beautiful." He whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine. He gave me a quick kiss on the lips and opened the car door for me.

When we arrived at his mother's house, his whole family were already there. Olena greeted us warmly as we entered her home.

"Rose, it's so lovely to see you again." She hugged me. Her accent was much heavier than Dimitri's, I noticed last time I met her, the knife incident. I was happy she forgave me for that, and we seemed to get along well. She was a lovely women.

I hugged her back and Dimitri introduced me to the rest of his family. Karolina, her husband, Alex, and their children, Paul and Zoya. Then there was a heavily pregnant Sonya, and her husband, James. Obviously there was Viktoria and I was also briefly introduced to Yeva, Dimitri's grandmother. She muttered something in Russian and stormed off. She was kind of terrifying.

We all exchanged gifts shortly after, I decided to buy everyone a small gift for welcoming me into their home on Christmas Day. I gotten a pretty nice haul off people too. I got a lovely silky grey scarf from Olena, a pretty bracelet from Viktoria, two bottles of perfume from Karolina and Sonya. And finally, gasping as I opened the blue Tiffany box, Dimitri had bought me a beautiful diamond necklace. The chain was white gold, and the pendant was a set of 5 diamonds in a horizontal row. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

"Dimitri… I, I can't accept this" I mumbled, staring at the necklace in astonishment.

"Yes you can, and you will." He chuckled, taking the box from me, he lifted the necklace out and fastened it around my neck. It was perfect, the pendant hung just below the dip between my collarbones.

"Do you like it?" he asked, looking a little nervous. "If you don't I could take it-

"I love it." I interrupted him. "Thank you so much." I wrapped my arms around his neck and we hugged for a couple moments. Now I felt bad for only getting him a t-shirt and jumper, though they were from Calvin Klein, so that was worth something.

The meal Olena cooked for us was delicious, and I devoured it all. After that we played party games and had some drinks. It was great day, probably the best Christmas I've ever had.

At around 1 in the morning, Dimitri drove us back to his apartment, he only had one drink so it was okay. We got into bed and promptly fell asleep in each other's arms. I decided I could do that for the rest of my life without complaint.

The next morning I awoke in an empty bed, and I could hear voices coming from the living room. There were two people, one of them Dimitri, and the other male voice, I recognised. I climbed out of bed and pressed my ear against the bedroom door so I could hear better.

"But why would they want to drop the case?" I heard Dimitri ask, he sounded a little angry.

"I don't know man, probably because there wasn't enough evidence coming in, it wasn't leading anywhere" The other male voice said.

"But a girl was murdered! We can't just let that go!" Dimitri started shouting. Murdered? I hadn't heard anything about this.

"The captain said to drop it, if I were you, I'd listen."

Who was that? I decided I needed to know. I walked out of the bedroom after pulling some jeans on, and froze dead in my tracks when I saw Zi. Of course it was him, how could you not tell?

 _Stupid Rose, stupid!_

"Oh, Roza." Dimitri looked at me and cleared his throat. "This is Police Officer Isaiah Dashkov. Isaiah, this is Rose." He introduced us, not like we needed it. I stood still in my spot and watched him walk towards me, after he wiped the initial shock off his face.

"Pleasure to meet you, Rose." He smiled a wicked smile and offered me his hand. I didn't want to, but I shook his hand anyway, and smiled in return.

"So, are you two a couple or something?" Isaiah asked, staring at me, then turning to look at Dimitri.

"We're dating, yes." Dimitri replied, smiling at me.

"How wonderful." He narrowed his eyes at me, his voice dripping with scorn and sarcasm. "Well, I better get going, got to go back to work. Not all of us get the holidays off." He winked at Dimitri, then turned to me, took my hand in his and lifted it to his mouth, pressing a kiss on my knuckles. It took everything I had in me not to punch him.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Rose." He winked at me before turning to leave. "Oh," he paused as he reached Dimitri, "If I were you, I'd watch out for Rose. It's scary how easily something so beautiful can slip through your fingers and be lost forever." He whispered, looking back at me.

Dimitri frowned slightly, wondering what the obvious double meaning was. I knew. He was threatening me.

After he left, Dimitri walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me, kissing the top of my head. He pulled back to look at me.

"Are you okay, Roza? You look a little pale." He asked me.

"I'm fine. How do you know him?" I asked.

"Oh, sometimes I have to work with him, he's kind of a dick, but I guess he could be worse." _Oh, if only you knew._

"What's all this about a murder?" I asked, curious that he hadn't told me. He started to shift, and look uncomfortable. "Dimitri?"

He groaned in response. "Not long ago, we found a girl in the woods. She'd been murdered." I stiffened when he said the woods, remembering that night.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"Because I didn't want to upset you. She was found very close to where I found you. She'd been sexually attacked too, the only difference was that she'd been killed, and you survived. I thought that maybe the person who attacked you could be…" He trailed off.

"You thought the guy who attacked me could have raped and killed this other girl?" I finished for him. I couldn't believe it. Could Zi really do that? I guess he had just threatened me five minutes ago, but murder? Surely not.

I sat down on one of the kitchen stools, and rested my head in my hands. What if it was him? This would be my fault, my fault because I didn't turn him in, my fault that this girl is dead.

Dimitri walked over to me and tugged at my wrists, pulling my face free from my hands.

"I know what you're thinking Roza, it's not your fault, okay? It's not fault some guy, whether it's the same one or not, attacked and killed a girl."

I needed to get out of here, I need to think, alone. I got up and grabbed my stuff.

"Where are you going?" He stopped me, wrapping an arm around my waist to stop me leaving.

"I'm just going back to my dorm. I need some time to think, Dimitri." I sighed.

"Are you mad at me for not telling you?" He asked, frowning slightly.

I sighed again. "No, no I'm not mad. I just, I just need to think okay? I'll call you later on, I promise."

After a moment of consideration, he finally leant down and kissed me on the cheek, letting go of me.

"Okay, please be safe." I nodded and kissed him quickly on the lips before leaving.

As I was walking home a million thoughts span through my mind, making me a little dizzy.

Should I tell Dimitri about Zi? Would he even believe me? _Of course he would_ , I thought to myself. But I still wasn't sure. Would Isaiah really kill someone? Could he? And if it was him, why didn't he kill me? Maybe it's because he thought he did. Ugrh, I was getting a headache.

I had just walked onto campus grounds when I tripped on a rock. I managed to not fall flat on my face, thank God. I kicked the rock in frustration when I felt my phone buzz. Probably Dimitri checking I got back okay.

It wasn't Dimitri. It was Zi.

 _Watch where you walk Rose, I don't want you to hurt yet, that'll come later._

What the fuck, he saw me, he's here? I looked around me, but I couldn't see him. I quickly ran to my building and slammed my door shut when I finally reached my room. I paced, angry and scared. I hated this! I hated that he could make me feel so little and frightened, like a child.

A while later I called Dimitri to tell him I'm okay, I didn't tell him about Zi or the text.

The next morning there was a knock at my door. Who was that?

I opened it, and once I saw who it was, I swiftly tried to slam it in his face. Isaiah put his foot in the door and pushed it open, he was stronger than me. I backed away from him as he closed the door behind him.

"How did you get in here?" I demanded. "You can't get in without a key." He held up the little key that unlocks the main door to this building.

"Got my own." He said as he shook it in front of me. How? Oh God, he could get in anytime he wanted.

"What do you want?" I shouted, trying to be brave.

"Have you told him?" he asked, glaring at me.

"Told who what?" I spat back.

His mouth turned into a slight smile, a twisted one. "Belikov, of course. Have you told him about me?"

"No, I haven't." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"And are you planning on telling him?" he continued.

"No" I looked down, averting my gaze. I had been considering it.

"Good. And you won't, if you care for him at all." I looked back up to him and he was walking across my room, picking things up from my desk, inspecting them. "If you tell him, I'll kill him." He looked me dead in the eye. Surely he didn't mean that. But what about that girl?

"Was it you? Did you kill that girl?" I asked, I had to know.

In response, he simply smirked and tapped his nose with his finger. Oh my God, he might have actually done it. Or he was just messing with me. Dammit!

"Well, I'm not going to tell him, I promise. So you can leave now, and leave Dimitri alone." I practically growled.

He chuckled. "You've gotten feisty." He walked over to me, my back now against the wall. He lifted a hand and stroked my face. "I kind of like it." He whispered. I shivered, but not in the way Dimitri made me. This was fear, pure fear.

"Get out" I told him, my hands clenched into fists by my side.

"Okay, catch you later, my beautiful Rose." He ducked down and kissed me on the cheek, and I shoved him back away from me. He laughed and then walked out of the door, leaving me shaking. I quickly locked it, and sat on the bed. Looking at the clock, I realised I had to be at the hospital in half an hour.

The next week passed miserably. Zi kept texting me random stuff. Some of it implied he was watching me, like the time I tripped, some of it was him proclaiming his love for me, and how he wants to be with me. Dimitri knew something was up with me. When we spent time together, he would ask if I was okay. I wasn't myself, I was quiet and fidgety, and scared that I would say something that would make Zi hurt him. I can't let that happen.

On Friday, I'd finished my last shift of placement at the hospital, they gave me a giant tub of chocolates as a goodbye. I went back to my dorm so I could get changed before heading to Dimitri's, only to find Isaiah sitting, waiting outside my room. Shit!

"Hello Rose" he stood up and leaned against the wall. I didn't make a move to open my door, I didn't want to give him the opportunity to lock us in there.

"What do you want?" I hissed at him.

"I want you to break up with him." He said flatly, as if it was the most casual thing in the world.

"Are you fucking crazy? I won't do that!" I shouted, losing my patience.

"Break up with him, or I'll kill him." He glared at me, his blue eyes piercing my soul.

"You're bluffing…" I trailed off, was he? Would he be crazy enough to kill a detective? _Probably_ , I thought.

"Are you sure about that? I could easily kill him. I'll slit his throat like I did to that girl. Or maybe I'll make it more painful, maybe I'll torture him first. Hmm, yes, that would be fun." He contemplated, stroking his chin with his finger.

"You actually did it, you killed that poor girl?" I asked, shocked. I suppose I shouldn't have been shocked, he almost killed me.

He nodded in return. "And I will kill Dimitri."

"No! Don't hurt him, please!" I begged him.

"If you break up with him, then I won't." he said simply.

I stood and stared at him for moment. He wasn't bluffing. He really would hurt Dimitri. I couldn't let that happen, I couldn't let him get hurt or die because of me.

"If I do that, if I break up with him, you'll leave him alone? You won't hurt him at all?" I whispered in defeat.

"I give you my word." He bowed dramatically as he spoke.

"Okay. I'll do it, just don't fucking touch him" I hissed again. "Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"Because, you are mine. You belong to me. I won't let other men look at you, never mind touch you. Do you understand? You. Are. Mine." He emphasised each word. He shoved me back against the wall and forcefully pressed his mouth against mine. I grunted in protest and pushed him away. He smirked at me and then left.

I went into my room, brushed my teeth, got changed and headed to break up with the man I was falling in love with.

DPOV

I was worried about Rose. She'd been acting weird all week. She was quiet, she was fidgeting a lot, and she was barely eating. That worried me the most. Rose loved food, something was definitely wrong. And tonight she tell me whether she liked it or not.

She finally arrived at about 7pm. I'd cooked us dinner, hoping to get information out of her with the bribery of good food.

"I'm not staying for dinner." She told me. She looked tired, and her eyes were hard, distant.

"What? Why not?" I asked, confused. Was she leaving, she only just arrived. I walked towards her to wrap my arms around her like I normally do, but she pulled away from me. I frowned at her.

She held out her hand, holding something in it. I held out mine and she dropped the necklace I'd given her into my palm.

"Roza, what are you doing?" Didn't she like it? She said she had.

"I'm breaking up with you." She said, her voice completely flat and devoid of any emotion. I snapped my head up and looked at her. Her face was completely blank, unreadable.

"What… What do you mean?" I stammered out. I couldn't believe she actually just said that.

"It means I'm breaking up with you, Dimitri. I don't want to see you anymore." Her face was still blank, hard and cold. My heart was breaking.

"Why are you saying this? Have I done something wrong? Have I hurt you?" I frowned at her, confused by everything. Was this just a bad dream?

"No, you haven't done anything. I just don't want to see you anymore." She looked away from me.

How could she be so cold? How could the wonderful, warm, caring Roza I'd come to love act like this?

"Why then? There must be a reason?" my voice was becoming strained, I was getting angry.

She looked me dead in the eye as she spoke heart breaking words. "I'm just not interested in you anymore. I don't want to be with you, so don't make it any harder on yourself."

My anger only rose, my blood now boiling. How dare she treat me like this, so heartless.

"Fine. I get it. We're done, I guess you can leave now." I clenched my fists and hissed the words, I wanted her to leave, so she wouldn't see how upset I actually was.

She flinched at my words momentarily, the only emotion she had showed tonight. She nodded and turned to leave.

"Goodbye, Dimitri." I didn't respond, I just stared as she closed the door on our relationship, and my heart shattered into one million pieces.


	9. Chapter 9

DPOV

One Month Later

I slammed my fist on my desk in anger. Another girl, another girl had showed up dead in the woods again, same scenario, raped and throat slit. There was zero evidence. Some sick bastard was getting away with this. I contemplated calling Rose. She could know who this guy was. I hadn't spoken to her since she left my apartment that night, though I did mail her the necklace I bought her, with a small note inside.

 _Keep it, it was a gift._

 _Dimitri_

I sighed, thinking back, thinking about her again. It had been one month and I was still miserable. I missed her, her soft long brown hair, her cute little laugh, the way she tries to raise one eyebrow but fails every time.

I picked up my stuff and headed home for the night.

I was just walking through town when I saw her for the first time in one month. She just walked out of the café, holding a box of donuts. She was walking with her head down, and almost walked right into me.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry" She looked up and froze, her eyes widening slightly. "Dimitri…" She trailed off, and took a step back.

"Hello, Rose. How are you?" I said, my voice tight. She looked hurt momentarily before clearing her throat, her face hardening.

"I'm great thank you, and yourself?" She asked.

"Perfect." I replied.

"Well, I better go." She cleared her throat once more. "Goodbye, Dimitri."

I watched her walk past me and all the way down the street before turning around and storming home. I hated when she spoke like that, so harsh and cold.

I was just unlocking my door when Emily came running up the stairs. For fuck sake, I can't be bothered with her.

"Hey Dimitri, how's it going?" She asked. I turned around and at least she was clothed this time. She looked like she'd been for a jog.

"Good thanks, how are you?" I asked, not even bothering to fake a smile.

"I'm great thank you. So uhm, is everything okay with you and Rose? I haven't seen her around in a while…" She trailed off, looking at me from under her eyelashes.

"We broke up." I said simply, I didn't want to talk about this with her.

"Well, it's about time" She purred, and before I knew it she practically pounced on me, grabbed my face and pulled me towards her. She placed her mouth on mine, I was so shocked I didn't do anything. I didn't kiss her back, but I didn't pull away either.

After a moment, I moved my hands to her waist. It was nice to be kissing. She wasn't as good a kisser as Rose. Mmm, Rose, her lips were so soft and sweet.

I felt her tongue push into my mouth and I froze. What the fuck was I doing? This wasn't Rose, she wasn't Rose. I pulled away from her abruptly, and she looked confused.

"I'm sorry Emily. But I don't feel for you that way. Don't do that again." I told her before turning and entering my apartment, slamming the door behind me.

I can't believe I had just done that. _You idiot, Dimitri!_

RPOV

I was in the bar with Lissa, Christian and Adrian. It was another one of their attempts to cheer me up. I was still upset over Dimitri, and now I was pissed at our accidental meeting earlier. He was so cold, it was infuriating. I suppose I deserved it.

It was 10pm and I was drunk. Like, really drunk. I kept thinking about Dimitri, seeing him had stirred up all kinds of feelings within me. I abruptly got up because I needed to pee.

"Where are you going Rose?" Lissa asked, frowning slightly. She was worried about me, I'd never been this upset over a guy before.

"To the bathroom, I gotta pee." I grinned at her and headed towards the ladies room. There was quite a long line so I stood in the queue, leaning against the wall.

I can't believe he mailed me the necklace he got me. It was wonderful, but I didn't want it. It reminded me too much of him, and it hurt. I should give it back, I decided. I then did something I knew I'd either forget about or regret in the morning, but fuck it.

I drunk dialled Dimitri.

He answered on the third ring.

"Rose?" He sounded surprised to hear from me.

"Yep, that's, that's me. Why did you send me the necklace?" I slurred my words slightly, damn alcohol.

"Rose, are you okay? You sound weird." His voice filled with concern, at least he wasn't being cold anymore.

"I'm sending the necklace back, cause I… I already a ridiculously expensive necklace, thanks though, for the kind… kind gesture." I tried to sound bold, my drunk mind was pretty sure it worked. He ignored my sarcasm.

"Where are you, Rose?" he asked.

"I… I'm waiting in line because I have to pee really bad." I whispered into the phone.

"Rose, are you drunk?" he sounded increasing.

"Of course I'm drunk" I said defiantly.

"Where are you?" He asked again, his voice demanding.

"You're so bossy! Stop it" I giggled into the phone.

"Rose, so help me, where the fuck are you?" I giggled again. It was funny when Dimitri swore.

"I'm in a bar" I mumbled.

"Which bar?" he asked

"I… I don't know. Goodnight Dimitri!" I hung up before he could reply. I giggled again. Ha! I showed him! Nobody messes with Rose Hathaway.

I finally got to pee and decided I needed some fresh air. I went outside and leaned against the wall. Some random man approached me, and put his hand on my ass, grabbing it. I pushed him away from me.

"Leave me alone, creep." I slurred.

"You're pretty" he said as he grabbed me again, leaning in towards my face. I put my hand on his face and pushed him away, but he was stronger than me.

"No!" I shouted. "Leave me alone!"

"Get off her!" A voice growled from next to me. Holy shit! It was Dimitri. How the hell did he get here so fast?

The guy turned toward him. "Fuck off man, this is none of your concern" he spat and turned back toward me.

Dimitri grabbed him and pushed him away from me, he moved to stand in front of me protectively. The guy squared up to him, but he wasn't as tall or built as Dimitri, and decided to back off, muttering as he walked away.

"Mmm, my hero" I giggled.

"Rose, how fucking stupid are you?" he chastised me. My head was spinning, I couldn't see anything. I could feel my body getting weak.

"I think I'm going to pass out." I mumbled as my knees buckled. The last thing I heard before fainting into Dimitri's arms was him shouting some explicit word in Russian.

I woke up in my bed, daylight streaming in. Ugh, my head was killing. How did I get home? I looked around and saw there was paracetamol and a bottle of water, with a note next to them.

 _I brought you home last night and put you bed._

 _Drink the water, take some paracetamol and eat something._

 _Dimitri_

"Oh my God" I exclaimed as everything came back to me. Drunk dialling him, getting groped, passing out. Fuck, that was embarrassing. But I did as the note asked, and felt a bit better shortly after.

DPOV

I ran my hand through my hair then promptly banged my head on the desk. Ugh. It was 2pm now, I hoped Rose was okay, I couldn't believe how drunk she had gotten. Just then Ivan and Isaiah walked in, Ivan took a seat in his chair, and Isaiah stood near us.

"Hey man, I know you're still miserable and everything, but I was thinking maybe we should question Rose. It's possible it's the same guy, and she could easily tell us."

I sat up and turned around in my chair to face them. He was right, I decided. We needed to know who he was, it was highly possible it was him.

"I was just thinking the same thing. We'll head over there now."

"What if she won't talk?" Isaiah chimed in.

"We'll make her, or she can be arrested for obstruction of justice." Ivan said. I didn't want to arrest her, I probably wouldn't, but telling her that might scare her into telling us. I was mad that girls were dying and she still wouldn't admit who this guy was.

RPOV

I was sat at my desk working on an assignment. My hangover was gone, thankfully. I put on cheery music to try and lift me out this depressing slump I've been in since I broke up with Dimitri. Isaiah hadn't hurt him though, he'd kept his word.

I can't believe he came to the bar to get me last night. I shuddered at the thought of what could have happened to me if he hadn't showed up. Some people are cruel and disgusting.

There was a loud knock on my door, bringing me out of my depressed thoughts, more like loud banging. I swiftly got up and answered it.

"Hey, what's with all the bang-

My words dropped when I saw Dimitri standing there, with Ivan and Zi. I frowned and looked at Ivan, not wanting to see Isaiah, and too embarrassed to look at Dimitri.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Can we come in?" Ivan asked me in return.

"Uhm, I guess." I moved aside to let them in. My room wasn't that big, so it was pretty crowed now. I walked back over to my desk and contemplated sitting in the chair, but I decided to stay standing. They all towered over me enough as it is, never mind when I'm sat down.

I cleared my throat as I leant against the desk, Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' started playing through the speakers. _Fitting_ , I thought. My monster stood right before me, a small smirk on his face.

I turned off the music, creating an awkward silence. Finally, Ivan spoke up. "Rose, we're sorry to bother you, but you need to tell us who attacked you." He said firmly.

"What? Why?" I glanced toward Zi, and he narrowed his eyes at me in warning.

"Another girl had been found dead, in the woods, exactly the same as the last girl, similar to what happened to you. We need to know, it could be the same person."

My stomach felt sick. He'd done it again, he'd killed another poor girl. I started panicking, how could I tell them when he was stood right in front of me, a gun resting on his hip!

"I… I can't. I can't tell you. I'm sorry" I said looking down at the ground.

"If you don't tell us then we're going to arrest you for obstruction of justice." Dimitri spoke for the first time, his voice hard. I snapped my head up and looked at Dimitri, shocked at how cold he sounded. I suppose I deserved it, for getting drunk and ruining his night, for breaking up with him the way I did. I was only harsh because I knew making him angry would make it easier for him to accept, even though it killed me to do it. He simply stared at me, his detective mask on.

I looked back over to Zi, his face told me not to say anything.

How the fuck was I going to get out of this?

Just then, my phone rang.

"What?" I snapped when I answered.

"Wow, sorry Miss Grumpy. Rose you have to get to class now, Alto is giving us a god damn surprise exam in 5 minutes! If you miss it you're in trouble!" Lissa said over the phone.

Ah, my hero!

"Shit, okay, I'll be right there, save my seat." I hung up and grabbed my bag and jacket.

"I'm sorry, but I've got an exam I can't miss." I said as I practically ran out the door.

"Rose!" I heard Dimitri call, I ignored him and flew out of the building, running towards my lecture hall.

Three hours later, I was pretty confident I'd nailed the surprise exam, I was back in room, and thank God, the three fucking musketeers were not there.

I paced my room for a while, contemplating what I should do. Should I tell Dimitri in private?

Yes. I should.

It was too much now. Two girls were dead, and I was pretty sure it was Isaiah. I couldn't bite my tongue any longer, I had to do something before more people were killed.

I called Dimitri, he answered on the second ring this time.

"Rose?" he asked.

"Yeah. Listen, I'll tell you who he is, in private. Just the two of us." I told him, whispering, paranoid Zi would somehow find out.

"Thank God. Do you want to come over to my apartment now? I just got back." He said.

"Yeah, I'm on my way. Be there in twenty minutes" After that, I hung up, put my coat on and grabbed my keys and phone before setting off. I was about five minutes away when I heard his cold voice behind me.

"Rose." I abruptly turned around, to see Isaiah standing there, staring at me. Fuck, does he know what I'm about to do?

"What do you want, Zi?" I tried to sound bored, like I wasn't about to just turn him in.

"Where are you going?" His voice dripped with malice. It was pretty fucking terrifying.

"I'm just going to meet some friends." I lied. "Zi, is it you? Did you kill those girls?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly.

"Yes" he said, so unbothered by it. How could he be so calm? Did he want to kill me? I felt my hands shaking, I tried to get it under control.

"Are you going to kill me?" I whispered, my fists clenched with fear.

"No Rose. I love you. Why would I kill you?" He took a step towards me, and I took a step back. He looked hurt.

"Why are you backing away from me? Don't you love me too?" He kept walking towards me until he had me pushed against the wall.

"No I don't. I don't love you Zi! You're sick, and twisted. You're incapable of love." I spat at him.

I jumped as he punched he wall right next to my head, making his knuckles bleed quite heavily. "Dammit Rose!" He yelled. "Why do you have to be this way? We could be together, forever!" He kept shouting.

"I don't want to be with you. I hate you." I whispered. Before I could react he backhanded me across the face, making me fall to ground. I looked up at him, cradling my face with my hand.

"Don't, please Zi." I whispered as he got down and straddled me. He punched me in the face, hard. My head snapped back from the force, blood pouring from my nose. I screamed, yelling for help, when he punched me again, this time around my eye. He clamped his hand around my mouth, a feeling I was too familiar with. He got off me and stood up, pulling me up with him.

"I'll let go of you if you promise not to scream." He hissed.

I nodded in response and he let go of me. He stood looking at me for what felt like forever. I needed to find a way to get rid of him, to get away. He turned away from me, hands running through his hair as he muttered to himself. I quickly took my phone and speed dialled Dimitri, hoping he would answer. I put the phone back in my pocket and Zi turned back around.

"I'm sorry Rose. I never meant to hurt you. You just infuriate me sometimes!" He yelled. "Why don't you love me? I try so hard for you." He pleaded. "Is it because of him? Belikov? That's it isn't it? You love him, that's why you can't love me." He whispered.

"No! I broke up with him. I don't love you because you're a cruel, evil person. I could never love you, so just give up already!" I yelled back. He grabbed me and slammed me against the wall. My back groaned in protest and pain. He grabbed my face in his hands and slammed my head back, once, twice. I was seeing stars when I heard someone yell my name. Suddenly Zi was off me, he had turned to face the person who yelled my name. I blinked so my vision would clear.

"Isaiah?" Dimitri whispered, momentarily shocked. He leapt at Isaiah, making them both stumble away from me. Dimitri got in a good punch, and they both grappled for what felt like forever.

BANG! I clutched my head at the loud noise, my ears ringing. What the hell was that?

I looked up and saw Zi take a step back, holding a gun in his shaky hands. Dimitri looked shocked, his eyes wide. He slowly looked down at his torso, put his hand to his stomach, and pulled his fingers away. I was filled with horror when I saw they were completely coated in blood.


	10. Chapter 10

RPOV

"No!" I screamed, as Dimitri collapsed to the ground. Zi turned and ran away, coward. I ran towards Dimitri, and crouched by his body. His eyes fluttered open and closed.

"Oh my God, oh my God." I cried. "Dimitri? Can you hear me?" tears streamed down my bloody face.

"What's going on?" A random man asked from across the street.

"Call an ambulance! Call a fucking ambulance!" I yelled, and saw him pull out his phone as he quickly approached us.

I looked back down to Dimitri, and he was looking up at me.

"Roza…" he breathed, his hand reaching out to brush a strand of my hair back behind my ear.

"Shh, it's okay. You'll be okay" I told him, taking his head in my hands. His eyes closed and I tried to shake him, to wake him up. But he didn't.

Shit shit shit!

"The ambulance is on the way." The man said.

 _Okay, think Rose, you study medicine for fuck sake!_ I remembered learning about this. I lifted up his top so I could see the wound better. There was a hole in his abdomen, slightly the right and above his belly button. It was bad, but it could be a hell of a lot worse too, it was only a small gun.

The A,B,C,D,E's for gunshot wounds.

Airway. Dimitri was unconscious so I turned his head to the side so he could breathe better.

Breathing. His chest was rising and falling, he was breathing okay. For now.

Circulation. It was bleeding heavily, I needed to stop it.

"Give me your scarf!" I shouted at the man crouched beside us. He looked confused but handed it to me anyway. I folded it up and applied pressure to the wound, hopefully stopping or as least slowing the bleeding.

Disability/Deformity. I didn't think there'd be any damage to his spine or neck, but I couldn't know for sure because he was unconscious.

Exposure. Look for an exit wound. I rolled him slightly on his side after asking the random man to keep the pressure on the wound. I checked his back, I couldn't see any exit wound.

That's all. That's all I can do for him. It felt like forever, though I think it was only 10 minutes, the ambulance finally arrived. I thanked the man for his help, and hopped in the back with Dimitri, holding his hand.

"Will he be okay?" I asked one of the paramedics.

"I'm pretty confident he will be yes." After that, we rode in silence.

When we reached the hospital they shoved me in the waiting room and took Dimitri to surgery. About half an hour later, Ivan, Olena and Viktoria stormed in.

"Rose?" He asked, as he ran over to me. "What happened?"

Instead of answering him, I burst into tears at last. I'd been holding them in, but I couldn't anymore. Viktoria sat next to me and hugged me, letting me cry on her shoulder. After a short while, I'd finally gotten my breathing under control, and I pulled away.

"It was all my fault, I'm so sorry." Tears built up again, but I pushed them back.

Ivan crouched in front of me. "Rose, tell me what happened, everything, from the beginning."

I nodded and told him absolutely everything. I told him that Isaiah was my ex, the one who attacked me. I told him about previous conversations with him, about him possibly killing those girls, threatening Dimitri and forcing me to break up with him, and I finally told him every detail of what happened tonight. He made notes throughout the entire time.

He left, as he was on duty, and I sat with Olena and Viktoria, both of whom had been crying as I told my story.

"I'm so sorry, Olena. It's my fault your son is hurt." A tear escaped from my eye and I quickly wiped it away.

"Rose. This is not your fault, at all. Don't blame yourself. It was Isaiah and his actions that hurt my son." Olena spoke softly, and kindly. She walked over to where I sat and sat in the chair next to me. She pulled some wipes out of her bag and starting wiping blood from my face. My nose had bled a lot from the brute force of his punch, and I had a small cut on my cheek from the other punch. After she'd cleaned my face, she wiped my hands too. That was Dimitris blood, I realised. There was so much of it, on my hands, on my clothes.

After than we didn't talk. We sat there for hours and hours. I was getting ready to scream and shout for the 100th time, when the doctor finally came out and called for Olena. We all rushed over to him to await the news.

"The surgery went well. We managed to get him stable, his vitals are good. We believe he'll make a full recovery." We all sighed with relief, when the doctor turned to me. "You're Rose? You're the one that treated him while you waited for the ambulance?" He asked. Uh oh, had I done something wrong?

"Yeah, I wouldn't say treated. I just made sure he was breathing and stopped the bleeding." I told him. I was pretty sure I hadn't done anything wrong.

"Well, you should be proud of yourself. He lost a lot of blood as it was, if you hadn't done what you did, he'd probably be dead." The doctor smiled and me and clapped his hand on my back slightly, before walking away. I stared in shock. He could have died? Oh my God.

Olena pulled me into hard hug, crying into my shoulder. "Thank you, thank you for saving my son's life" She whispered as I hugged her back.

"You don't need to thank me, really." I replied. I didn't deserve it. The nurse came over to us then and let us into his room.

He looked so… ill. He was pale, compared to his normal tanned skin. All kinds of wires and tubes were connected to him, monitoring him. I pulled up a chair next the bed and sat down, taking his wired hand in mine. Olena and Viktoria both stood next the bed.

The nurse told us we only had a few minutes. Those minutes were simply spent in silence, watching Dimitri, hoping for any reaction or movement. I knew he wouldn't though, he'd be under until morning probably.

An hour later, I was back in my dorm room. Olena had driven me home after my initial protests. I stripped my clothes off and showered for ages, washing away everything that had happened. I looked in mirror and realised how awful my face looked. My nose was swollen slightly, my lip had bust and was swollen too. My cheekbone was red, with a small cut and a big bruise was already forming around my right eye. I sighed, took some painkillers and got some ice, wrapped it in a towel and lay down with it on my face, hoping to reduce the swelling.

I woke up to my phone buzzing.

"Hello?" I mumbled, not bothering to check caller I.D.

"Rose? He's awake. Dimitris awake." Viktoria said into the phone. "He's asking after you, he's worried."

"I'm leaving now." I told her and hung up. I looked at the clock and saw it was 1pm. I'd slept forever. I hopped out of bed, pulled on some clothes and ran to my car.

I took a deep breath as my hand rested on the door handle to his hospital room. I let the breath out and opened the door.

Dimitri was sat up in bed, and Viktoria was sat in a chair next to him. They were speaking in Russian about God knows what.

He looked up as I entered and shock showed on his face. I walked over to him and sat down in the chair on the other side of his bed.

"Hey" I whispered. "How are you feeling?"

Instead of answering he reached out and pressed his hand to my right cheek. "Roza, your face. Are you okay?" He asked, his voice and face filled with concern. I hadn't even looked in the mirror before I left, I must look awful.

I laughed. "You got shot and you're asking if I'm okay?" This man, he was so good, so caring and selfless. I didn't deserve him.

Viktoria left to go home as she had an assignment due soon, so it was just the two of us.

"So, everybody tells me you saved my life." I looked up at him and saw him smiling at me.

"No, I didn't. You're in here because of me." I whispered, shaking my head.

"Rose it's not your fault." He told me, taking my hand in his. "I can't believe it was him. All this time, working with him, and he was the one who did that to you, and possibly those other girls." His fists clenched in anger.

"Can I ask you something?" he whispered.

I nodded in reply. "Did he make you do it? Did he make you break up with me? Or was that you, do you really feel that way?"

"It was him." I whispered, tears falling down my cheeks. "He told me he would kill you if I didn't break up with you. So I did it. I did it so he wouldn't hurt you. And looked how that turned out." I laughed, completely without humour.

"Rose…" he started. "This isn't your fault"

"No, Dimitri." I interrupted him. "It is my fault! I didn't tell you about him because I was scared you wouldn't believe me at first, and then I was scared that he would kill you, and myself. So I kept my mouth shut. And look what happened, you got shot! You got hurt, you almost died Dimitri. Because of me!" I was standing now, my voice becoming higher as I shouted.

"You're so good, so caring and selfless. You never think of yourself, you rush into danger without a second thought for the people you care about, the people you love. And I don't deserve that, I don't deserve you." I whispered.

"What are you saying?" He whispered, his eyes showing hurt.

"I'm saying you don't need me in your life. I'm so sorry, for everything. I hope you get better soon, I really do." And with that I ran out of the room, sobs escaping from me as I heard him call out my name.

DPOV

They were finally letting me go home, it had been 6 days since I'd been shot. I had to regularly change the bandages for a few more days, but after that I could take them off.

Rose hadn't been back since she pretty much broke up with me all over again. I'd tried calling her for the first two days, but she never answered. I gave up, I could take a hint. She didn't want to be with me, fair enough I guess.

I was back in my apartment, Nikita was cuddling into my uninjured side as we sat on the sofa. My mother told me she'd been whining all week, missing me. I missed her too. My mother and Viktoria were bustling around, making sure I had food and what not. Honestly, I was a grown man, I could take care of myself. But it touched me, that they were so worried. They had visited me every day. Karolina, Sonya and Ivan had visited me occasionally too.

Viktoria plopped down on the couch next me, grunting in frustration.

"What's the matter?" I asked, curious.

"You! And Rose! You're both so stubborn and stupid to realise that you're like, meant to be together!" I groaned in response. She'd been blathering on about this all week, constantly telling me to keep contacting her. Like I said, I could take a hint.

I glared at her as she was about to continue moaning, silently telling her to shut up.

A little while later they had left and I was alone. It was nice, actually. Peaceful.

The next whole week passed slowly and dreadfully. I hated having nothing to do. They wouldn't let me back to work until I had fully healed, which would take another couple of weeks. The bandages finally came off though, and the scar was healing slightly. It was still sensitive to touch. It kind of made me look like a badass though.

Ivan came by a lot. Sometimes he would bring food and beer, and we'd chill out. He also mentioned Tasha had contacted him asking if I was okay. He hung up on her. God I hoped she wouldn't show up. Or Emily. I think she was pissed at me for the rejection when she kissed me.

There was also no news on Isaiah, which pissed me off. There had been a report of a stolen car nearby, suggesting he may have took it and ran off.

Ivan had also gotten access to the rape kit they originally did on Rose after she had been attacked. The DNA that was under her nails matched Isaiah's. We still couldn't prove it, but we were all pretty certain he was behind the murders too.

It was now Saturday evening, and Viktoria came over. Once again she was lecturing me about Rose.

"She misses you, you know?" She peeked at me, hoping to tug on my heart strings and give in and claim my undying love for her. _Wasn't too far off actually,_ I thought to myself.

"She told you that?" I asked, had she really said that?

"Not in so many words, but I can see she does. You love her Dimitri, why aren't you fighting for her?" She asked, hands on her hips.

"Vika-

"No. You listen to me. I'm so sick of this! I thought you fought for what you believed in Dimka, I thought you fought for the people you love?"

"I do, it's just-

"You're not fighting for her! When you should be. Answer me one question." She raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you love her?"

I looked at her, knowing she already knew the answer.

"Yes." I replied.

"Then what are you doing moping around here, when you could go after her? Just think about it okay?" After that she left.

Maybe she was right. I hadn't been fighting for her, and perhaps I should have been.

RPOV

I was sitting watching an episode of Brooklyn Nine Nine when somebody knocked on my door. I opened it and Viktoria stormed past me into my room.

"You're such an idiot!" She yelled at me.

"Well, hello to you too." I replied sarcastically, and sat down on my bed.

"Look, I came here to yell all kinds of stuff at you. But I've been doing that for 2 weeks now, and I'm sick of it. So I'm just going to ask you something. Do you love my brother?" She stood before me, like an angry demon cupid.

Did I love him? I didn't even need to think about it. Of course I did.

"Yes, I do." I replied simply.

"Then what are you doing, sitting her alone on a Saturday night, when you could be with him?" With that, she gave me one last look and walked out of my room, closing the door behind her.

What was I doing alone? I loved him. I love him. I need to tell him, I realised. I didn't care if he didn't feel the same, I needed him to know.

I grabbed my bag, not even bothering to put a jacket on. I ran outside in the pouring rain, and headed in the direction of the carpark.

I was half way across campus when I stopped, frozen in my tracks when I saw him.

Dimitri was there, and he stopped when he saw me too. We both just stood there, panting from running, the rain drenching us. My hair clung to my face. He took slow steps towards me and stood right in front of me.

"Dimitri, what are you doing here?" I looked up at him, squinting in the rain.

"I love you. I'm here because I love you. And I don't care if you don't feel the same, I just had to tell you." He said to me, his breathing ragged.

He loved me. He actually loved me. The thought made me feel giddy.

"I love you too" I said. His eyes widened, and suddenly his mouth was on mine. His hands rested on either side of my face, and mine went up and around his neck. I pressed my body against his, and he moved his hands and wrapped them around my waist, lifting me into the air. I wrapped my legs around his waist and held his face in my hands as I deepened the kiss. Our tongues explored each other's mouths, and I let out a soft moan as I felt the heat and desire build up low in my stomach.

I remembered that we were in public and it was pouring of rain.

"Let's go back to my room." I whispered into his ear. He nodded and set me down. He took my and hand and we ran towards my building.

I had just closed my door when he pushed me against it, his lips back on mine. He grabbed my arms and pinned them against the wall, I moaned in return. I pulled away so I could catch my breath, and he moved his mouth to my neck, planting soft kisses in a trail down my throat, moving up and down until he settled on the sweet spot below my ear. I moaned again and ran my hands through his wet hair.

He looked down at me then, I could see the desire and question in his eyes. I told him with my eyes exactly what I wanted to do tonight.

I pulled him back to me, kissing him once again. I toyed with his shirt, and pulled it up and over his head. I stopped when I saw the scar on his abdomen. I ran my fingers over it gently, and his stomach flinched, his breathing hitched. I looked back up at him, and he pulled my mouth to his.

He managed to somehow get the rest of our soaked clothes off, so we were both stood in our underwear.

He reached down, placed his hands on my butt, and hoisted me up again, my legs wrapped around his waist. His mouth explored mine once more, our tongues dancing with each other, and fighting for dominance. He walked over the bed and we both fell down on it, not caring that we were still wet. He started kissing my neck, down over my chest. He stopped when he reached my breasts, his eyes looked up at me, questioning. I nodded. I was ready this time, one hundred percent.

His hand went behind my back and he unclipped my bra, pulling it off me and throwing it across the room. I smiled as he looked at me hungrily.

His mouth went back to my breasts. I moaned in pleasure, running my hands through his hair as he teased my nipples, kissing and sucking one softly, while his hand cupped the other one, using his fingers to gently pinch it. I arched my body in response.

His mouth found mine again, and we kissed for a while. He started his journey back down my body, this time going down to my stomach, placing light, feathery kisses all over it.

"You're so beautiful, Roza…" he breathed against my skin.

When he reached the top of my underwear, he looked up at me once more, questioning me again. He saw the answer in my eyes.

He peeled off my underwear, pulling them down and off me. He placed kisses all the way up my legs, and paid special attention to my inner thighs. I groaned at the pleasure, he was teasing me.

He gave in and I gasped when I felt him run his nose along my length. His mouth found my clit, and he started kissing it, which then turned into licking it. His fingers joined in the pleasure, first stroking me. I could feel how wet and I ready I was. He gently inserted one finger, then two, moving them in and out as his mouth went back to my clit.

I tilted my head back and arched my back, moaning. It felt so good, having him down there.

A minute later and I was close to climaxing. I tugged on his hair and whimpered as he pulled away from me. He looked down at me with a devilish smile. Two can play that game. I jumped him and managed to get him on his back, straddling him. He looked up with complete adoration in his eyes.

I trailed kisses all the way down his body, over his neck, his chest, his stomach. I reached his boxers and raised my eyebrows when I saw how large and aroused he was. I swiftly pulled them off, his erection springing free. I gently took it in my hands, playing with it. He closed his eyes and moaned low in his throat.

I lowered my head and took him in my mouth, making him moan even louder. I swirled my tongue around the head, and his fingers found my hair, his breathing heavy.

My hand and mouth went to action, sucking and pumping him over and over.

"Roza." He breathed. He was close. I pulled away from him, making him groan in protest. He looked up at me, and I licked my lips and grinned wickedly. I straddled him again, and I lined him up with my entrance.

"Wait," he whisper, his voice low and husky. "We need protection."

"Don't worry, Comrade, I'm on the pill." I told him. No way would I risk getting pregnant.

I slowly lowered myself onto him. I moaned as I felt myself expand to accommodate him. His hands gripped my hips as I started to move slowly, up and down on him. I tilted my head back. God he felt so good in me. I placed my hands on his chest to keep me steady as I picked up the pace, bouncing on top of him. His grip on my hips became harder, his fingers digging into me as I rode him.

He suddenly sat up wrapping his arms around my waist, still inside me, so he was kneeling on the bed, I was still straddling him, my legs on either side of his. One arm stayed around my waist and his other hand went into my hair, pulling my mouth to his to kiss me feverishly again.

I moved my hips and started lifting myself off him, riding him again as he slid in and out of me. I ran my fingers through this hair, grabbing it as the pleasure increased.

I felt my orgasm building slowly but surely, low in my body. I picked up the pace, moaning loudly, not caring if anyone could hear us. His grip on my hair become stronger and he tugged, making my head go back. His lips went to my neck, kissing and nibbling my sweet spot. It was my undoing.

I screamed in pleasure as the climax that had been building up in me exploded all around us. It was ecstasy. My body quivered from the intense pleasure as Dimitri leaned his face into my neck and found his own release, burying himself deep in me.

We were panting heavily, he looked deep into my eyes with his soft brown ones, so full of the love he had for me. I climbed off him, and fell down the bed, exhausted.

Dimitri chuckled but followed suit, pulling the covers over us. He took me in his arms, and kissed my forehead.

"I love you, Roza." He murmured against my skin.

"I love you too" I told him as my eyes closed, and I fell asleep in the safest place I could ever be, his arms.


	11. Chapter 11

DPOV

I woke in the morning with Rose in my arms, her back pressed against my front, her head on my arm, which was now dead, and her hair covering my face. I didn't mind though. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Roza and I had made love for the first time last night, and it was every bit of perfect as I'd imagined it would be. Her body fit mine perfectly.

Looking at her now, as she slept, her beauty still blinded me. Honestly, I tried to keep my hands off her and let her sleep, but it was impossible. I ran my fingers through her hair, pulling it back gently, so her neck was exposed.

She stirred but didn't wake up.

I bent my head down and placed a small kiss on her shoulder. I paused, but there was no reaction, so I continued, trailing kisses from her shoulder to her neck, going up until I reached her jaw.

"Hmmm…" She mumbled. Her eyes were open now, she wiggled her bum and pressed it into my crotch.

Jesus Christ.

"What are you doing?" I froze and whispered against her shoulder.

"Exactly what you're doing, Comrade… Teasing." She rolled onto her back and grinned up at me, a devilish look in her eyes.

I rested my head in my hand, still propped up on my elbow by her side, and trailed my fingers over her torso, lightly caressing her skin.

She moaned slightly and I grinned at her. I loved the sound of her moan. I heard it loads last night, and I wanted to hear it again, in its full glory.

My hand moved slowly, all the way up to her breasts. Just as my hand cupped it her stomach growled.

I raised my eyebrow and looked down at her. She chuckled, not embarrassed at all, which was a good thing.

"What? It's the morning. I get hungry in the morning" She stated.

I chuckled. "Roza, you're always hungry, no matter what time of day it is."

She laughed and agreed.

"Let's go make some food." She said, trying to get up but I put my arm around her and stopped her.

"Do we have to? I'd rather stay here with you." I nibbled at her ear, and started kissing the sweet spot on her neck. I knew she loved that.

She just laughed. "No food, no sex. Simple."

I groaned, earning another laugh, before letting her get up. I watched as she put on some shorts and my tee from last night.

"See something you like?" She smirked at me.

"Lots." I replied, showing her with my eyes just how hungry I was, and not for food.

She smirked again and tossed my boxers and pants at me. I was going shirtless, seen as though she was wearing the only one I had here.

We padded to the kitchen she shared with her roommates on this floor. She pointed to her cupboard and I walked over, frowning when I saw what was inside.

Some microwave noodles and half a bag of dried pasta.

"This is all you have?" I turned and asked her.

"No, I have some stuff in the fridge too." She said defiantly.

'Stuff' turned out to be an out of date block of cheese and some butter.

A girl walked in then. She was tiny and had blonde pixie hair. Ah, I remembered her from the bar. Mia I think.

"Hey Rose, what are you dooooooh" She trailed off when she saw me. Her eyes widened and she stood frozen for a moment.

She snapped out of her daze when Rose threw a tea towel at her, hitting her in the face.

"Hey, back off. He's all mine." She grinned at Mia.

Mia mumbled an apology of some sorts and wouldn't look at me as she grabbed a bowl and filled it with cereal and milk, before leaving the kitchen. Rose chuckled.

It always surprised me when I had this effect on women. I guess I never really think of myself that way.

"Rose, there's nothing edible here." _Apart from certain parts of your body_ , I thought.

She looked overly innocent as she stood up and bent over, pretending to look in the cupboard, giving me a fantastic view of her ass. She must've seen the hungry look in my eyes, and decided to tease me some more.

"Roza" I breathed, my voice heavy with desire. "If you actually want to eat something, I'd suggest you stop teasing me."

She stood and turned to look at me, leaning against the counter.

"What will you do if I don't stop?" She asked me.

"I'll take you right here." I whispered. She bit her bottom lip, and peeked up at me.

Before she even knew what was happening, I'd closed the space between us and pulled her lips to mine. We kissed passionately, neither of us holding back now that we'd given ourselves to each other completely.

She moaned into my mouth and I let out a low growl in return. My hands moved down her body, and rested on her ass. After a moment I lifted her up and placed her on the edge of the counter, without breaking the kiss. I pressed myself into her, and she gasped. No doubt feeling just how aroused I was.

My mouth moved to her neck again, and she titled her head back.

"Oh my God." Mia exclaimed.

I pulled away slightly in embarrassment, and Rose hopped off the counter, grinning. Nothing ever seemed to faze her.

"I'm so sorry. I, um, forgot to get a spoon." She grabbed one and practically ran out of the room.

"You have food at yours, right?" Rose turned to me, placing her hands on my bare chest.

"Of course." I told her as my hands wound around her waist.

"Then let's go." She pulled away from me and practically skipped down the hall.

While we cooked in my apartment, correction, _I_ cooked, we continuously stopped for little touches and kisses.

God, I love this woman. I'm never letting her go. Ever.

RPOV

Dimitri was cooking breakfast for us both, and it smelled delicious. I decided to plug my iPod into his dock again, and I started dancing when John Newman's 'Love Me Again' came on. Dimitri watched with a broad smile as I swayed my hips and moved across his kitchen.

Dimitri didn't strike me as a man who liked to dance. Hmm.

I moved over to him, grabbed the spatula and put it down. I took his hands in mine and pulled him towards me, I started moving. He realised now what my intentions were, and he shook his head.

"I don't dance, Roza." He said nervously. Ha! This tall, strong man feared only one thing: dancing.

The song switched to The Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter. I moved to the beat, still holding Dimitris hands. I moved them up and wrapped them around his neck instead. He responded by wrapping his around my waist, and he started to sway with me.

When the song finished he went back to cooking, and I played with Nikita. I chased her around the apartment, she chased me, we played tug with a bit of her rope. I loved this dog, she was so adorable, and loyal too. She would defend Dimitri and myself to no end.

After we'd ate, we lay on the couch and caught up on The Walking Dead. I loved that show.

I spent the rest of the day at Dimitris. We watched movies, ate crap food, and took Nikita for a walk.

At one point I noticed a pair of boxing gloves, ones that you could fold the top over so you could use your fingers, on a shelf in the hall. I felt a smile play over my lips as an idea came to me. I pulled them on, walked over to where Dimitri stood in the living room, with his back to me, and punched him in the arm as hard as I could.

He turned, stunned slightly at the unexpected attack, but an amused smile took over. The way an adult looks at a child, or a kitten trying to attack.

"What are you doing?" He asked, curiosity in his eyes.

I took up a stance, putting my fists up and jumping lightly from foot to foot. I punched him again in the chest this time. His smile grew.

"Show me." I told him.

"Show you what?" he crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow.

"What you got." I hit him again, making him laugh playfully.

"Well, your stance is pretty good." He smiled, holding his hands up.

I punched them playfully, when he suddenly leapt forward, grabbed my waist and tackled me to the ground, all without hurting me.

We both laughed and he had my hands pinned beneath him as he hovered over me.

"You see, Roza, it's all about submission." He started. "You want to make them tap out."

"Tap out?" I asked, still smiling broadly at him.

"Yes. You want to make it so painful, that they have to give up."

I kneed him in his side slightly, and managed to roll us over. I had him pinned on the ground, I was straddling him, pinning his arms with my hands. I knew he could easily break free if he wanted to, he was ten times stronger than me, and he was letting me pin him down.

"Tap out!" I yelled at him.

He grinned and was about to break free, but I used my sex appeal to work in my favour. I grinded myself against him, and leant forward so my hair fell over him, and gave him a good view of cleavage.

He stopped moving and stared at me, his brown eyes full of lust now. I moved my hips again, rubbing myself against him. He closed his eyes and moaned in return.

"Not fair, Roza…" he whispered.

"Who said I played fair?" I said, moving my head down so our lips were almost touching. _Almost._

He tilted his head up to try and kiss me but I pulled back slightly.

"Tap. Out." I whispered.

He broke his arm free of my grip, and placed his hand on my back. He slowly ran it down, trailing his fingers along my side, over my hip and finally resting on my bum. Gently, he tapped it twice.

DPOV

I started at Rose in amusement and curiosity after she punched me in the arm, wearing my training gloves I use at the gym sometimes.

"What are you doing?" I asked her as she held up her fists and jumped side to side. She looked adorable. She punched me on my chest this time, making my smile grow. Her hits didn't hurt at all.

Maybe I should train her, make her stronger. There are loads more creeps in this world like Isaiah, and Rose should know how to defend herself. I made a mental note to ask her later.

"Show me." She demanded.

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Show you what?" I asked.

"What you got." She grinned and hit me again. I laughed and held my hands up, getting into a stance of my own.

She started punching my hands.

"Well, you're stance is pretty good." I told her as she punched me again.

I lunged at her so quickly she didn't see it coming. I wrapped my arms around her waist, lifted her and put her on the floor. I hovered over her, my hands pinning hers. I laughed with her, she had a beautiful laugh.

"You see, Roza, it's all about submission. You want to make them tap out." I told her, giving her a small lesson in wrestling.

"Tap out?" She asked, smiling broadly at me.

"Yes. You want to make it so painful, that they have to give up."

She suddenly lifted her leg and kneed me in the side, rolling us over so she was on top me. She straddled my crotch and I let her pin my arms to the ground.

"Tap out!" She shouted at me. She was like a sexy, angry kitten.

I was just gathering my strength to break free from her grip when she pressed her body into mine, leaning down, and showing off her breasts. Hmmm. She was playing dirty. And it was working.

She moved her hips, grinding herself on me. I could feel my arousal grow, making me moan.

"Not fair, Roza…" I whispered, my voice husky with my desire for her.

"Who said I played fair?" She said, moving her head down so our lips were so close _._

I lifted my head to close the distance between them when she pulled away slightly.

"Tap. Out." She whispered, her voice just as heavy with desire.

I pulled my arm free, and ran my hand slowly down her back. I stopped when I reached her bum, tapping twice on it.

She grinned and leaned her head down, kissing me. It started slowly, but very soon it deepened, became more passionate and lustful.

Last night, I let her dominate me. It was our first time, and I wanted her to call all the shots, in case she wanted to stop or wasn't comfortable with anything. Tonight would be different. I would dominate her.

I flipped us over so I was on top, her legs wrapped around my waist. I kissed her beautiful mouth, my tongue exploring inside. She moaned and started moving her hips slightly, pressing against my arousal.

I groaned and stood up, pulling her up with me. I bent down and picked her up, throwing her over my shoulder. She screamed with what I presumed was delight.

I threw her down on the bed, and didn't waste any time. I wanted her. I needed her. Now.

I stripped her of her clothes, and discarded my own, before laying back down on her. I trailed kisses all the down her body, before settling on her down there. I kissed, licked and played with her using my fingers, making her so, so wet.

I groaned again, god I loved that she was so hot for me. I moved my mouth back to hers and without much warning, I pushed myself into her. Her nails dug in my back as she tilted her head back and moaned.

I paused for a moment, letting her body get used me, before starting my relentless rhythm. This was nothing like last night. Last night was slow, so full of love. I wanted and needed to show her how much I cared and loved for her.

Tonight we were giving in to lust and passion. Obviously, I still loved her, but this was much faster, harder.

My mouth found her neck as I drove into her.

"Dimitri…" She moaned, somehow turning me on even more.

"I love it when you moan my name." I told her, shutting off her grin as my mouth crushed hers.

Shortly after, she cried out, her nails raking across my back as she screamed my name, her orgasm controlling her. Just watching her come made me finish too. I pressed my face into her neck as I released into her.

Our bodies trembled and I collapsed on top of her. We were both panting heavily, and I lay there for a minute before pulling out of her and lying on my back. I extended my arm and grinned down at her. She smiled and lay her head on my chest, snuggling into me.

I pulled the covers over us and kissed her head. It wasn't even late, I realised as I saw the clock said it was 6pm.

Her fingers caressed the scar on my stomach, and I flinched. It didn't hurt, but it was very sensitive to touch.

"Sorry." She mumbled. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't. It doesn't hurt, it's just sensitive." I whispered into her hair.

"I still can't believe you got shot because of me." She mumbled into my chest, her arms pulling me closer.

I tightened my hold on her, and tilted her chin up so I could look into her eyes.

"Roza, it's not your fault. Stop blaming yourself. And you know what? I'd do it all again. I'd get shot one hundred times if it meant you'd be okay." _I'd die for you_ , I thought. I kissed her forehead and she simply smiled at me in return.

Her hands glided over my chest, just her touch made me want more. I could feel myself getting aroused all over again.

I trailed my fingers over her neck, down her shoulder, my hand gently cupped her breast. I rolled over slightly so I was hovering by her side as she lay on her back. My mouth moved to where my hand previously was, making her moan.

I looked up at her as she giggled.

"Ready for round two already?" She asked, smiling from ear to ear, her fingers running through my hair.

I kissed her neck and whispered into her ear. "And round three, and four, and five…" I trailed off as she shivered and her mouth found mine once more.


	12. Chapter 12

RPOV

Two weeks went by, and they were probably the best two weeks I've ever had. Everything was going good for once. My grades were good on all my tests and assignments. I'd found time to spend with my friends again. I felt like I'd been neglecting them for a while now, because of everything bad that happened with Isaiah, keeping me from them, and now I'm hooked on Dimitri and spending a lot of time with him.

Speaking of the devil, the time I spent with him was perfect. We would talk and laugh about anything and everything, I'd eat whatever delicious food he would cook for us, we'd chill and watch TV together. Soon we would go to the gym together too. He'd asked me one week ago if I'd be up for him teaching me some self-defence moves, some attack moves and just generally getting my strength up. I agreed because I knew it would make him feel better, knowing that I can defend myself if anything were to happen to me. I also wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to get all hot and sweaty with him. That might sound gross to anyone else, but to me, it was wonderful. As was the sex we had together. We couldn't keep our hands off each other, whenever we had any free time, it would be spent with him in me somehow. Sometimes it would be slow and so full of our love for each other, making love. And other times it would be passionate and raw, fucking. Just thinking about it made my panties wet.

My phone starting buzzing, bringing my thoughts out of the gutter, the wonderful, sexy fucking gutter.

"Hello" I answered. It sounded quite chirpy, probably because thinking of having sex with Dimitri made me a very happy girl.

"Rose?" A voice sounded through the speakers. I froze. I hadn't heard this voice in a long time.

"Janine" I gritted my teeth, my voice dark. I did not get on well with my mother.

"Rose, I'm your mother, and you should address me as such." She said in a clipped tone. She didn't put up with my shenanigans.

"What do you want?" I snapped. She never rang me anymore, she didn't call me on Christmas or New Year. What kind of mother does that?

"I haven't spoken to you in a while. And seen as though you never call me, I thought I'd call and see how you're doing?"

I laughed down the line.

"I never call you? I wonder why that is." I said sarcastically. "Hmm, maybe because you never call me, you don't even text me, you never visit me, you neglected me as a child, and as soon as I was old enough, you left me, your only child, completely alone to fend for herself. While you went to do God knows what, with who the fuck knows?!" I was yelling by the time I finished my rant at her.

"Rose!" She snapped. I pushed all of her buttons just right. "Do not speak to me like that. And watch your language!"

"I don't give a fuck about my language. Now, is there any point to this conversation or can I hang up now?"

I got my answer when the phone went dead. That bitch. She hung up on me. _She_ hung up, _on me_!

I threw my phone on the bed, furiously pacing my room. God, she pissed me off royally. How dare she call me like nothing was ever wrong between us, and then hang up on me!

A couple minutes of angrily pacing later, there was a knock on my door.

"Hey Rose, ready to get your study on?" Lissa smiled at me, her smile faltered when she looked at my face.

"Uh oh, who pissed you off?" She asked, putting her books down on my desk.

I slammed my door and launched into my story of what just happened with my mother.

"I can't believe she actually called you." Lissa spoke for the first time since my story had ended.

"I know, right?" I sighed. Being angry had worn me out.

"You know, it probably doesn't help matters when you go berserk on her like that." Lissa gave me a pointed a look.

"Ugh, whatever. Let's just talk about something else and study." I turned my laptop on and played Hoziers album quietly in the background. We had a pretty big test this week, and we'd been studying mercilessly.

"Soooo," She started, "how is everything with the hot Russian?" She asked, smiling and waggling her eyebrows.

A small smile played on my lips. Thinking of Dimitri instantly cheered me up.

"Yeah, everything's good… Really good." I bit my lip to stop my smile from growing.

"Have you, you know… slept with him yet?" She giggled and put down her notepad, this conversation becoming her main priority.

This time I couldn't stop the smile from spreading and I giggled back.

"Oh my God! You have! Tell me, tell me everything!" She practically shouted.

When I didn't say anything she continued. "Come on Rose! When did it happen? How many times? Was he good?" She bounced up and down where she sat on the floor, a huge grin on her face.

I held up my hand and used my fingers to tick off her questions. "Two weeks ago, so many times I've lost count, and no, he is way, way better than good." I replied, grinning.

She squealed with delight and leapt forward, giving me a big bear hug.

"I'm so happy for you, Rose. I know I don't know him very well, but he seems like a good guy, and you're like, perfect for each other." I smiled and hugged her back before letting go and returning to our seating positions on the floor.

"Well, I would ask if you and Christian have done it, but I'm pretty sure you have, and thinking about Christian having sex kind of grosses me out a bit." I pulled a face and Lissa slapped my arm.

"You make him sound like he's ugly or something." She pouted.

"Oh, he's not ugly. He's really good looking, but also, I've been friends with him forever, and it's weird." I could tell she wanted to have funny sex girl talk, and I felt bad, so with a sigh I decided to humour her.

"Go on then, tell me how wonderful and attentive he is while making love to you" She giggled and launched into her tale of her sexual activities with Christian Ozera.

There was another knock on my door, interrupting her story about how he likes to talk dirty sometimes.

I opened it to see Christian and Adrian standing there.

"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear." I mumbled and Lissa chuckled. Christian frowned at me, then picked me up in a massive hug, swinging me round. He might be a pain in the ass, but I loved him like I would a brother.

"Long time no see, Rosie." He set me down and I punched him for calling me that. He clutched his arm in what I suspect was mock pain. Hmm, I couldn't wait to train with Dimitri. Maybe I'd be able to actually hurt Christian.

Adrian then pulled me into a hug and I closed the door behind him as he made his way to my bed. He kicked off his shoes and promptly got under the covers and lay down, snuggling into my pillow. I rolled my eyes at him and sat on the edge of the bed.

I glanced over to Lissa, who was sat leaning against Christian. She caught my eye and we both laughed, thinking to conversation we just had before we were interrupted.

"What's so funny?" Christian asked, making us laugh even more. He looked back and forth between us like we were crazy.

"Oh nothing, just girl stuff." I replied. He narrowed his eyes, no doubt figuring out it would be something to do with him.

"What kind of girl stuff?" He whispered, accusingly.

"Mmm, if you talk dirty to me, maybe I'll tell you." I grinned when he froze, Lissa giggled.

He leant his head back, closed his eyes and groaned.

"Wow, calm it Chris, I haven't even started my dirty talk yet." I laughed at his expense. I loved annoying him, but he loved annoying me too, so it was fair.

"Why would you tell her that, Liss?" He groaned again. Lissa simply laughed again and Adrian watched the whole exchange, looking slightly disgusted at the thought of Christian talking dirty.

Again, there was another knock at my door, just as I was about to tease Adrian for once asking me to call him daddy. Cringe.

I swung open the door, and there my wonderful, sexy Russian boyfriend stood. I was surprised, I wasn't expecting him. How did he even get in?

"Hey, Comrade." I jumped him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He responded by wrapping his arms around my waist, lifted me up and kissed me.

After a moment, someone cleared their throat behind us. I think it was Christian. Dick.

Dimitri froze, not realising there were people in my room. He promptly set me down and said his hellos to everybody. I noticed he scowled slightly when he looked at Adrian. Probably because he was casually in my bed.

He looked back down at me and handed me a book.

"I brought your book back, I figured you'd need it to study." He smiled at me. I threw it on the bed and thanked him.

"How did you get in the building?" I asked curiously.

"Someone came out just as I got here. Well, I can see you have company, so I'll go."

"You don't have to go." I told him, stepping into his embrace.

"I do, actually. Got to get back to work." He mumbled into my hair.

"How's your first day back going?" I asked, tilting my head up to look at his gorgeous face.

"Good. It's like I never left." He smiled at me. He said goodbye to everyone, then ducked down to give me a quick kiss on the lips, turned and left.

I sighed happily at the empty space he was just standing in.

"Rose and Dimitri, sitting in a tree. K.I.S.S.I.N.G" Christian joked, making stupid kissy faces.

I picked up a small book and threw it at him.

We all left to go to Lissa's room. It was bigger, and she had a better TV than I did. We were going to have a movie night, all us. Me, Lissa, Christian, Adrian, Mia, Eddie, Mason and Viktoria.

As we walked, I fell into step beside Adrian. We walked a little behind Lissa and Chris. I looked over to Adrian, realising he hadn't said a word since he got to my room.

"Hey, are you okay? You're being very quiet." I whispered, as Lissa and Christian had their own conversation in front of us.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I stared at him, telling him I didn't buy it.

He sighed. "My parents are getting a divorce." He mumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, my dad's a total ass. If I was my mom, I would've left him a long time ago."

I stopped walking and put my hand on his arm, trying to give him a little bit of comfort.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked, and we started walking again.

"I think I'm just going to go to my room." He said as we reached his and Lissa's dorm building. "I can't be bothered to hang out with a big group tonight." He smiled, but it was fake, it didn't reach his eyes.

I realised then that he needed someone, whether he wanted it or not. He said goodbye to everyone and walked into his room, closing the door.

I ran up to Lissa and Chris on the stairs.

"Hey guys, I'm gunna give tonight a miss." I told them, breathless after running up a few stairs. Yep, I definitely needed to exercise more.

"What? Why?" Lissa asked, frowning slightly.

"Adrian's having a rough time, he shouldn't be alone." I told them. They both smiled and hugged me goodbye before heading upstairs. I went back down and knocked on Adrian's door.

He didn't answer straight away, so I just kept knocking.

"What?" He snapped at first, but his expression softened when he saw me.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realise it was you." He mumbled. I pushed past him and sauntered into his room.

"What are you doing? You're not going to make me go watch the film are you?" He asked, running his hands through his hair.

"Nope." I told him, sitting down on the sofa he had somehow gotten into his room. I grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, kicking my shoes off, and making myself at home.

He sighed and sat down next to me, looking at me curiously.

"We're going to have our own movie night, just us two." I smiled at him and I flicked through the channels.

"Rose, I appreciate you're trying to help, but I-

"No buts, Adrian. You're having a hard time, and you shouldn't be alone. So that's where I come in." I beamed at him.

"You don't have to do this." He said to me.

"I know. But I want to."

He seemed to accept the fact I wasn't going anywhere, and made himself comfy next to me.

After a while, we both got hungry so we ordered some Thai food from a place called Thai Kitchen. They did the best food ever. I ordered a Thai Green chicken curry with Jasmine rice and some Thai prawn crackers, while Adrian got a Red prawn curry with jasmine rice. It was super delicious.

After we'd ate ourselves to death, we decided to put on some music, The White Stripes, to be exact, and we played some board games.

I kicked his arse at Monopoly. I ended up bankrupting him within half an hour.

Next, we played scrabble. And no surprise, I beat him again.

"How do you keep winning?!" he shouted and laughed. Ah, there it was. The laugh I've been looking for all night.

"Because I'm better than you, Ivashkov. You suck at these games." I smirked, teasing him. He swiped his hand across the board, knocking all the tiles everywhere, before getting up and wandering over to his kitchen.

"Sore loser." I muttered.

"I heard that!" he yelled from the fridge, making me snigger.

The rooms in this building were bigger and better than the ones in my building, apart from the top floor. The rooms on the top floor were the same as the all the ones in my building, which is where Vika's room was.

The fancy rooms cost so much more, but everyone had their own self-contained flat. The kitchen was joined with the small, but lovely living room, only a breakfast bar separating them. A door closer to the kitchen led to his bedroom, with an en suite. Adrian's parents were rich, so that's why he was living here. Same for Lissa and Eddie.

Adrian came back with a can of Coke for me, and a beer for him. We settled on the couch and put Shutter Island on, such a good film! I'd seen it so many times, but each time I watched it it's like I'd never seen it before.

"So, you want to talk about it?" I decided to bring it up one final time. Adrian was my friend, and it was my responsibility to make sure he was okay.

"There's not much to talk about." He sighed.

"Well, at the risk of sounding like some lame counsellor, how do you feel about it?" I probed.

"You're right, you do sound like a lame counsellor." I gave him a pointed look, letting him know he's not changing the subject that easily.

He sighed again.

"I feel… I don't know. Upset? Pissed off? Somewhere in between." He took a swig of his beer.

"Have they told you why they're splitting up?"

"My mom says she can't put up with my dad anymore. She can't deal with how he constantly puts her down, and his possession and jealousy. I guess I should be happy for her. She deserves so much more than him." He whispered, clutching his beer.

I leant forward and wrapped my arms around his neck. He put his beer down and hugged me back, clinging to me like I was his saviour.

"That's what you need to focus on then. I know it must be hard, they're your parents and they're splitting. But you said it yourself, she deserves more. And you can be there for her, help her get her life back on track. She's going to need you, Adrian, and I don't doubt for one second that you'll be there for her, helping her, because you're her wonderful son. And I'm proud and lucky that you're my friend." I finished and simply hugged him for a long time.

Eventually his grip loosened, but he didn't pull away completely. He kissed the top on my head.

"Thank you Rose, thank you so much. I love you, you know I'm here for you too right?" he whispered.

I smiled and nodded. "I love you too." I said. I wasn't _in_ love him, nor him with me. We loved each other like family, the same way I loved Lissa and Christian.

We went back to watching the movie, and soon I felt my eyelids droop, and sleep consumed me.

I woke in a bed that wasn't my own, and voices shouting, coming from another room.

"It's not what you think!" I heard someone shout. Adrian? Looking around, I realised I was in Adrian's bedroom. I was still fully clothed, thank God. He must've put me here when I fell asleep.

I got up and walked toward the bedroom door, which was wide open. I saw Adrian standing in his boxers, a worried look on his face.

I almost gasped when I saw who he was shouting at.

"I don't want to fucking hear it, Adrian." Dimitri told him, his voice low but menacing. Adrian grabbed his arm, to stop him from leaving.

Big mistake.

I watched with wide eyes as Dimitri spun around, raising his arm and pulling it back, before snapping it forward, and socking Adrian right in the face.


	13. Chapter 13

Adrian POV

I heard Roses breathing deepen and become slower and softer. I glanced over to her and sure enough, her eyes were closed. She was fast asleep.

I picked up the remote, turned off the TV and carried her to my bedroom. I laid her down in my bed and pulled the main duvet over her body. I grabbed the smaller, thinner blanket, and left the room, closing the door behind me. I stripped off my clothes apart from my silk grey boxers and made myself comfortable on the couch, spreading the blanket over me for warmth.

I was so grateful for everything she said and did tonight. Yeah, she might be my ex, but now she was my best friend. Sure, I joked all the time, inappropriate jokes about sex and stuff, but that's all they were now. Just jokes. I cared about her a lot, and I could see how happy she was with the Russian guy.

I thought about having words with him at some point. I'd kill him if he ever hurt Rose.

She was right too. I was going to do whatever I could to help my mother out. This would be tough for her, but she deserves someone who isn't a total asshat like my father.

I woke up early in the morning to someone knocking on my door.

"Belikov." I greeted him, my voice sounding surprised, my face no doubt matching it.

"Hello, Adrian. Is Rose here?" he asked me. He sounded kind of frosty with me. What the fuck, what had I done to him? I realised then that Rose was asleep in my bed, and I was only in my boxers.

Oh shit, this wouldn't look good to him. I decided to lie, I didn't want to be the cause of a fight between them.

"No. I haven't seen her. Why?" I replied, closing the door slightly so he couldn't see inside very well.

"That's funny. I just saw Lissa and she said Rose was here last night." He glared at me, his voice cold. Jesus this guy was pretty scary. He was taller and more muscular than me, I had no doubt he would obliterate me in a fight.

"Uhm, she was. But she left." Lame. You need to do better than this Adrian. "Have you checked her room?"

"Obviously. That's why I'm here." He said icily, still glaring at me. "So she isn't here?"

"No." I responded quickly, too quickly. The guy was a detective for fuck sake, he was probably really good at picking up on people lying. He pushed past me and walked into the living room.

I saw that Roses jacket was slung over the sofa still, her shoes on the floor. Fuck. This is bad, this is very, very bad. I should've just told him the truth.

He saw her jacket and shoes and glared. His head snapped to the bedroom door. He walked over and I made no move to stop him, it seemed hopeless, I wouldn't be able to overpower him. He opened the door and his face dropped when he saw Rose, still asleep in my bed. The duvet completely covered her, so you couldn't see that she was still fully dressed.

He turned round and walked quickly to the door. Oh no. I couldn't let him leave thinking something had happened.

"Wait!" I shouted and ran in front of the door, blocking his exit.

"Get out of my way." He whispered, his voice dripping with anger and scorn.

"It's not what it looks like." I told him, holding my hands up in defence.

"Adrian, get out of my way." He snapped, his eyes staring daggers at me.

"It's not what you think!" I shouted at him, hoping that shouting would somehow make him see the truth.

"I don't want to fucking hear it, Adrian." His fists clenched by his side and he pushed past me. I grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. I had to make this right, I had to.

Before I had any time to react, Dimitri spun around, pulled his fist back and launched it, punching me square in the face. I felt my nose crack and blood spurt out. And Jesus, it fucking hurt.

"What the fuck is going on?!" I heard a female voice yell.

DPOV

My first day back at work was great. I was glad to be back, doing what I love again, instead of going insane in my flat.

I dropped Roza's book off at her dorm during my break, and scowled slightly at Adrian. He looked too comfortable in her bed. Her bed where they'd probably had sex before.

I chastised myself. That doesn't matter now, she's with you. You have no reason to be jealous over nothing.

Rose was spending some time with her friends tonight, so I hung out with Ivan. We drank some beers and watched a movie.

I went to bed alone, and missed Roza deeply. It was the first night in two weeks we hadn't spent together. Things were going great with her. I loved having her around, spending quality time with her. And we had so much sex, it was amazing. I dominated her sometimes, and other times I gave her complete control. I couldn't decide which way I liked better.

That night, I fell asleep, dreaming about her mouth on mine, her cheeks flushed red, and pleasure all around us.

I decided the next morning to go see her before I started work. I missed her too much, and I wanted to surprise her. I picked up some chocolate doughnuts and drove to campus and knocked on her door. When she didn't answer, I knocked louder. That girl was a deep sleeper.

I scowled at the door. I plucked out my phone and tried calling her. I couldn't hear it inside. Maybe she'd slept at Lissa's? She was probably there quite late. I left the box of doughnuts at the door for her, a nice surprise to come home too, so long as nobody steals them.

As I was walking back towards the car pack, I ran into Lissa coming out of her building. Might as well ask where Rose is.

"Oh, hey Dimitri. Visiting Rose?" She asked, politely smiling at me.

"Yeah but I can't find her, do you know where she is?" I asked her.

"She's not in her room?" She asked confused. That meant she hadn't slept at Lissa's. Where the hell was she? Rose never woke up early, even when she had class, she slept in until the last possible minute, before legging it down the halls to make it on time.

"No, I checked, she isn't there. She didn't sleep at yours?"

"Nope. She was with Adrian last night, if you want to go ask him?" I nodded and she opened the door for me, telling me his room number. We said our goodbyes and I made my way to his room.

Was she inside? Why would she sleep at Adrian's? The image of him in her bed flashed through my mind.

She wouldn't… She wouldn't cheat on me, would she?

Of course she wouldn't, you idiot. She loves you. And you love her, so stop doubting her.

I knocked on his door, and a minute later he answered. He was only wearing his boxers, and rubbing his eyes, like he'd just woken up.

"Belikov." He greeted me. He looked very surprised to see me standing here.

"Hello Adrian. Is Rose here?" I asked him. I couldn't help but sound cold towards him. Thoughts and flashes of him and Rose kept popping up in my mind.

Together in bed.

Naked.

 _Cut it out man_ , _she's probably out getting food somewhere._

Adrian's body suddenly went frigid, and he closed the door slightly, blocking my view of inside. What the hell? Was she here?

"No. I haven't seen her. Why?" He replied, trying to act and sound cool.

"That's funny. I just saw Lissa and she said Rose was here last night." I glared at him, my voice becoming colder than before.

"Uhm, she was. But she left. Have you checked her room?" he asked.

"Obviously. That's why I'm here. So she isn't here?" I asked.

"No." He responded very quickly. He was hiding something from me.

I pushed past him and walked into what looked like the living room.

I saw a black leather jacket. Rose's jacket. It was slung over the sofa, and I then noticed her shoes on the floor.

So she was here. Why was he trying to hide it from me? Where was she?

My head snapped up to look at the only other door besides the front one. Must be the bedroom. I walked over and opened it all the way.

My heart broke in my chest.

I saw Rose, sleeping peacefully in another mans bed. The duvet covered her, for which I was glad. I didn't need to see what I knew already. She was naked, and they'd slept together.

I had to leave. I had to get out now, before either of them saw how upset I was.

I span around and practically ran for the front door. Adrian shouted something and ran in front of the door, blocking my exit.

"Get out of my way." I whispered, lacing my voice with scorn, trying to sound menacing.

"It's not what it looks like." He told me, holding his palms out in defence.

"Adrian, get out of my way." I snapped at him. How could he? How could she? How could she do this to me? Cheat on me. And I thought things were going so well. I couldn't have been more wrong about her.

"It's not what you think!" He yelled at me again.

"I don't want to fucking hear it, Adrian." I clenched my fists, stopping myself from beating the shit out of him. I pushed past him again, and he placed his hand on my arm, pulling me to a stop.

Feeling him touch me made me lose any resolve I had.

I spun around, yanked my fist back and punched him in the face. Hard. I felt his nose crack under the blow, and blood spurted out heavily. He staggered back, clutching his nose with his hands.

"What the fuck is going on?!" I heard an all too familiar voice yell.

I looked over to the love of my life with clear anger on my face, my heart heavy with the pain caused by her betrayal. At least she had the decency to get dressed before coming out.

I didn't say a word to her, I simply turned at left, walking quickly.

I heard her yell my name a few times, but I ignored her and ran in a full sprint to my car.

I spent the rest of the day at work, angry at everything and everyone. Ivan asked me what was up at one point, but I didn't answer.

I climbed up the stairs in my building, and walked down the hall to my apartment, when I saw her sitting outside my door.

RPOV

"What the fuck is going on?!" I yelled at them. Adrian staggered back, clutching his face. Getting punched from a 6'7 ripped Russian guy must hurt.

I looked towards Dimitri, to find him glaring coldly at me. I saw sadness and anger in his eyes. Had I done something wrong?

I mean, I get he might be upset that I'd slept in Adrian's bed, but punching Adrian and glaring at me the way he was now, I didn't deserve that, Adrian didn't deserve that.

Dimitri spun around and promptly left the room. I shouted his name and ran after him, out of the building. I saw he was running, and fast. There was no way I could catch up to him. I turned back around and went back into Adrian's room. He was sat on the sofa, pressing a towel to his face, groaning in pain.

"What the fuck just happened?" I asked him, taking the towel away so I could inspect his nose. Yup, definitely broken. His once perfectly straight nose was now crooked to the left side.

"He thinks you cheated on him." He mumbled. "With me."

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed, shooting up out of the seat. "Why the fuck does he think that?" I yelled in panic. Oh God. He probably hates me right now.

"He came here, looking for you. I thought it would look bad, if he knew you were in my bed. So I lied and said you weren't here, but I mustn't have done a very good job, and he barged in, saw you in bed, and completely flipped out on me."

I slowly sat back down, tears filling my eyes.

"I'm so sorry Rose. I lied because I didn't want you to get trouble with him, but I fucked it all up. I'm so sorry." I looked over at Adrian, and I couldn't be mad at him. He just tried to help, horribly for sure, but still.

I sighed and put on my jacket and shoes. I got Adrian some clothes and told him to put them on.

"We need to get you to the nurse. She might be able to fix your nose." I told him.

"How bad is it?" he asked, panicking. He was so vain.

"Not that bad." I lied. I tried calling Dimitri on the way, but he wasn't answering, so I texted him instead.

The nurse cleaned Adrian up, and put his nose mainly back in place, though it was still a tiny, tiny bit off centre.

"Are you gunna cry like a big girl now that your nose isn't perfect?" I teased him as we walked back to the dorms.

"Nah, I actually quite like it. Makes me look like a badass." He smirked.

"Oh yeah, it's so badass getting punched in the face by a built Russian." I said sarcastically.

He nudged me and apologised again. We said our goodbyes and I headed to my dorm to get changed.

I noticed a box outside of my door. I picked it up, it was a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. They must be from Dimitri. He knew how much I loved these. I felt a pang in my chest, he was so thoughtful, and now he thinks I'm a heartless, cheating bitch.

I had a few hours until Dimitri finished work. I tried calling and calling all day, texting him one million times. But I never got a reply. I had to fix this, tonight.

At about 4pm I couldn't wait any longer. I drove to his apartment, and banged on the door, hoping he might have finished work early. He was either ignoring me or he wasn't home. I plonked down onto the floor and waited, and waited, and waited.

The opposite door opened after a while. It was Emily. I hadn't seen or heard from her in a while.

She sneered at me and went downstairs. A minute later she came back up with her mail.

"Ugh. Why are you wasting your time out here? I wondered when he'd finally see sense and dump you." Emily smirked at me.

I clenched my fists and shot up. I fucking hated this women.

"Actually, we're still together. So why don't you just leave us alone."

She laughed, patronising me. "You actually think it's going to work out with him? He'll realise eventually, that you're totally wrong for him." She stood in her doorway, her arms crossed over her chest, a bitchy look on her face.

My fists clenched tighter.

"How pathetic do you have to be, to butt into people's lives like you do? Its sad Emily, get a life." I told her, taking the high road and turned so I could sit back down.

"We kissed, you know." I froze instantly. She was lying. _She wasn't lying about that time in her underwear_ , I thought.

I turned back to look at her, she was sneering at me, knowing she had me at a disadvantage.

"Yeah. After you broke up that first time? I kissed him, and he kissed me back. I have got to tell you, I get why won't give up on him, he was such a good kisser!" She sniggered.

"The way his hands felt all over my body, his lips on my-

Before I could stop myself I raised my arm and punched her right in the face. She stumbled back, blood pouring from her lip and nose.

"You crazy fucking bitch! I'm calling the police!" She slammed the door in my face.

I probably shouldn't have hit her, but hearing her talk about that, I couldn't control myself. He kissed her? Now I was pissed! He hadn't told me that.

I sat back down outside his door. I still wanted to prove my innocence. And when he did, I was going to take him down for kissing that bitch.

I shook my hand, my knuckles hurt, and two were even bleeding a little. I don't think I've punched anybody like that before.

What felt like forever later, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

I looked down the hall and saw Dimitri. He froze when he saw me. Surprise and hurt registered on his face, before he slammed up his guard, his face becoming hard and blank.

I stood up as he approached his door, unlocking it. He acted like I wasn't even here.

"I need to talk to you." I told him.

He walked into his apartment and tried to close the door, but I blocked it with my foot. He glared at me angrily. He wanted me to leave but I knew he wouldn't go so far as to actually make me leave by force.

"Please, just let me explain." I begged him.

"There's nothing to explain." He snapped. "You fucked Adrian, congratulations."

I flinched at his harsh word and tone of voice. I considered actually leaving for a moment.

No. You're going to fix this, Rose. Before it gets worse and you end up breaking up with the man you love, over nothing.

I pushed past him, walking into his apartment. I crossed my arms and stood in the hall.

"I didn't say you could come in." He snapped again.

"I don't care." I snapped back. "I'm explaining what happened to you, whether you like it or not. So just shut up and listen!" My voice grew louder towards the end of my sentence.

He glared at me some more, before finally closing the front door. He took off his coat and shoes and stood opposite me, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. He was intimidating, especially stood up like that. Damn his height and build.

I took a deep breath before starting my story.

I told him what had happened last night. Everything with Adrian, about his parents, the divorce. I told him I wanted to be there for him, as a friend, and so I hung out with him in his room instead of with everybody else.

"And I fell asleep on his couch. The next thing I know, I'm waking up, _alone_ and _fully clothed,_ " I emphasised the 'alone' and 'fully clothed' bit, "in his bed, with you two shouting, and you throwing punches left right and centre. Adrian told me he put me bed, and he slept on the couch."

Dimitris resolve faltered slightly as I told my story. I sighed and didn't say anything else. I told him everything, the truth.

We didn't say anything, and simply stood staring at each for a while.

My legs got tired so with a sigh, I decided to sit on the sofa. After a moment, Dimitri joined me. He took my hand in his, and I looked up at him with surprise. He face was filled with sadness, and regret?

"I'm sorry, Rose." He whispered. I sagged with relief. He believed me, thank God.

"I should never have doubted you. It's just, he lied about you being there, and then I saw your jacket and shoes, and then I saw you in his bed, and I couldn't think of any other reason than that you'd cheated on me. I'm so sorry." He looked at me, his eyes pleading, begging for my forgiveness.

I contemplated dragging it out, his suffering. I was upset and angry that he assumed that, that'd he'd actually think I would cheat on him. But I decided against it, I didn't want to fight with him, I loved him, with all my being. And when you love someone, you forgive them.

"It's okay, I forgive you." I smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "You should probably apologise to Adrian though, you broke his nose."

"I will." He nodded, swallowing his pride. "But why did he lie?" he asked me, frowning slightly.

"He said he realised it looked bad, him, in his underwear, me in his bed. He didn't want you to think that we'd done anything. Obviously, that didn't turn out well. He was just looking out for me." I sighed.

Dimitri put his hand under my chin and lifted my head up. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on my lips. I responded, placing my hands on his biceps. His hands found my waist and the kiss deepened.

Then I remembered what Emily had said.

I pulled away abruptly. He looked confused at my sudden movement.

"So I heard something interesting while I was waiting for you." He still looked confused.

I stood up and walked over to the wall, leaning against it the same way he had earlier. He stood up and stood a couple feet away from me, waiting for me to elaborate.

"I saw Emily." He instantly froze at the mention of her name. "She said you kissed her… Is it true? Did you kiss her?"

Dimitri looked down at the ground, guilt all over his face. "I…I" He started, but couldn't finish.

I sighed. How could he? How could he kiss someone else, and her of all people!

"Why?" I whispered, hurt clear in my voice.

"You broke up with me." He whispered. He took a step forward and I held out my hand, motioning for him to stop.

I laughed without any humour. "Yeah, I guess I did. So it's all my fault you go running into someone else's arms?"

"I didn't, I didn't go running into her arms, Roza." I flinched at his affectionate term for me. "Now you have to let me explain what happened." He held out his hands, like I was a wild animal, about to bolt at any second.

"I came home one day, and she was there. She started talking to me and then she kissed me. And yes, I kissed her back for a brief second, but only because I was thinking about you. I realised it wasn't you, and I pushed her away." He sighed as he finished. I suppose it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. She made it sound like they had a heavy make out session.

I didn't know how to feel, upset, angry, furious? We weren't together when it happened, I had broken up with him.

"I punched her." I whispered. He looked surprised for a moment. "After she told me. She kept rubbing it in my face. She made it sound like you practically fucked. So I punched her." He winced at my language choice.

After a moment of considering what to say, he simply opted for "Looks like we both need to control our anger." My lips twitched slightly with amusement.

He moved to stand right in front me, and placed his hands on either side of my face. He lifted my face and his lips crushed mine. I fell into the kiss for a moment, but an image of him doing this to Emily flashed through my mind.

I pulled back, rage radiating through me and slapped him across the face. His head snapped to the right from the force of my blow. His breathing was heavy, ragged, and just like mine.

He slowly turned his head, to look back at me, his eyes dark, flooded with desire.

I jumped at him, pressing my body against his, pulling his face to mine once more. He met my mouth with an equal amount of ferocity. He placed his hands on my waist and lifted me up easily. It amazed me how strong he was. My legs instinctively went around his hips and he took me to bed.

"Fuck, Dimitri!" I screamed as he pounded into me. I was lying flat on my front, with Dimitri pushing into me from behind, going at a punishing rhythm. My face was buried into the pillow, muffling my moans, my hands gripped the bed sheets, twisting them as I clenched my fists in pleasure.

He hissed when I screamed his name. His hands gripped my hips and hauled me up, so I was on all fours. He continued hammering into me, moaning my name. We'd come close to losing each other tonight, and now we were claiming each other, fighting for dominance.

Dimitris hand went under me, stroking and playing with my clit. He pinched it and it sent me over the edge. I screamed his name again as I convulsed around him, still thrusting into me hard and fast. I collapsed on the bed, unable to support myself anymore after my earth shattering orgasm.

He flipped me over, so I was on my back, and started pushing into me once again. His body hovered over mine, holding himself up on his elbows.

The pleasure was so intense. He angled himself so he rubbed against my G-spot every time he thrust into me. I pulled him down so his whole weight was on me, and I raked my nails across his back, marking my territory.

"You. Are. Mine." I whispered into his ear, my hips meeting his thrust for thrust. He looked down at me and crashed his mouth onto mine.

"Yes. I'm yours. And you're mine. Now scream my name again." He growled. I smiled and did as he said as he slammed into me over and over again.

I cried out as I climaxed again. My whole body shook with such an intense pleasure. This time he came with me, burying his face in my neck, and himself deep inside of me, muttering a string of words in Russian. We both still moved, hips meeting each other, helping each other ride out our orgasms.

He collapsed on top of me, our breathing ragged, panting for air. A couple minutes later, he kissed my forehead and pulled out of me, plopping down on the bed by my side, laying on his back.

I was too hot and sweaty to cuddle into him yet. He leaned over and turned the lamp off. His hand found mine in the dark, and our fingers intertwined as we both fell into a deep sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

DPOV

I was walking through town getting some lunch when I saw Adrian, walking with Lissa. I sighed, I still needed to apologise to him for punching and breaking his nose.

They were sat on a bench outside a café, laughing and chatting. His nose was bruised, but it had been a couple of days since I punched him. Swallowing my pride, I walked over to them.

"Adrian, Lissa." I greeted them. Lissa got up and mumbled something about getting a drink.

I sat down in her now vacated seat and sighed.

"Adrian, I…" I started, I didn't really know what to say.

"You're not going to punch me again, are you?" He smirked at me. God he frustrated me sometimes, but I knew he cared about Rose, and she cared about him. I knew they were good friends and he'd protect her if it came down to it.

"No, I'm not." I smiled warily. "I wanted to apologise. I shouldn't have punched you. I just, I thought-

"It's okay Belikov. You don't have to apologise. Hell, I would've done the same if I were you."

"Yeah. Well, I'm still sorry. I misunderstood the situation and overreacted. I'm sorry." I said again.

"It's cool, besides, I kind of look like a badass now. Chicks are digging it." He winked at me. He reminded me of a younger Ivan. Actually, he just reminded me of Ivan, the way he is now.

"So are you and Rose cool?" He asked me casually.

"Yeah, we're good." I grinned slightly. Just then Lissa came back so I stood up, giving her seat back. After saying my goodbyes I went back to work.

I was just getting dressed in the locker rooms at the station after showering. Ivan, myself and a few other Detectives had some training today. Practising at the shooting range, obstacle courses, fun stuff like that.

I was about to put my shirt on when Ivan whistled. I turned to look at him, confused as to why he was whistling at me when I was half naked.

"Things getting a bit kinky in the bedroom, Belikov?" He waggled his eyebrows, grinning like an idiot. I had no idea what he was talking about.

"What the hell are talking about man?" I questioned him. I hadn't even told him Roza and I had had sex yet, never mind rough sex.

"Your back." He nodded in my general direction. Confused, I walked over to the full length mirror on one of walls and turned to look at my back.

I almost gasped when I saw it.

Four red lines ran down either side of my back. They started around the shoulder blades, and worked their way down from there. Inspecting it closer, a few patches had even scabbed over slightly. Holy fuck, Rose had definitely marked her territory that night.

Thinking back, I couldn't help the grin that spread over my face. I love making love to Roza, showing her how much she means to me, how much I care for her. And I love fucking her brains out too.

I remembered feeling her nails on my back, but it didn't hurt. In fact, I liked it. I fucking loved it actually, thinking about it made my dick twinge. I had to stop before I got a hard on in front of Ivan.

I walked back to my locker, still grinning and put my shirt on.

"So you finally got laid, huh?" he strolled over and patted me on the back.

I simply shook my head slightly, I wasn't going to talk about this with him.

"Come on man! I want details, Belikov!" He sat down on the bench, looking at me, and waiting.

"Okay, okay! I slept with her, happy?"

"I knew it." He grinned. "How many times? Is she as hot as I think she is?"

I threw my towel at him, hitting him in the face. "Okay, first of all, don't think of her like that, she's my girlfriend." I scowled slightly, before I felt a grin plaster across my face again. "And, I don't know, lots of time? And no, she's so much more 'hot' than you think she is. She's beautiful."

He laughed and stood up, clapping me on the shoulder.

"You dog, you the man!" I cringed at him.

"That's embarrassing for you. Don't say that again."

The Captain called for me when we got back into the office.

I walked into the Captain's office and stood as he sat down at his desk. There was man sat in one of the chairs opposite the desk. He looked to be in his 40's and was wearing an expensive looking navy suit, with a bright pink pocket square, the same coloured tie and black dress shoes. He also wore a flashy looking purple scarf around his neck. He had a very tan complexion, enough to look foreign. He had relatively short black hair, and a goatee of the same colour. He also wore a fair amount of gold jewellery, including a gold hoop earring in one his ears.

"You wanted to see me, Captain?" I spoke, addressing my Captain only.

"Detective Belikov. I'd like to you meet my friend, Mr Mazur." He extended his hand towards the man in the chair. He stood up, straitening his suit and extended his hand to me. Mazur? Why did I recognise that name?

"Detective Belikov." He said, his voice sly. He shook my hand as I looked into his cunning eyes.

"Mr. Mazur." I made sure my shake my firm. He sat back down in the chair, and the Captain suggested I sit down too. I wondered what this was about.

"Belikov, Mr. Mazur has some questions for you regarding the Dashkov case, and more specifically, his attack on the girl, Rosemarie Hathaway."

I frowned, confused.

"To my knowledge, that case and its information isn't available to the public, Sir." I said politely.

"Yes I know. But Mr Mazur is hardly the public. He's a businessman, of sorts. And you will answer any questions he has." He said sternly.

"Okay, but I'm not working on that case. Wouldn't it make more sense to ask questions regarding this to one of the Detectives working it?" I asked. I wanted to be working on the case, but the Captain wouldn't let me, because for one thing, I was a victim, getting shot, and because of my close relationship with Rose, another victim.

"Just answer his questions, Detective." He told me once more, before leaving the office, presumably to let us speak in quiet. My defences instantly went up as I faced this man. Whoever he was, he must have power or connections higher up, or else he wouldn't be able to get information on this case.

"So, Detective Belikov, you found Rosemarie Hathaway unconscious on the morning of Sunday December 5th. Is this correct?" he asked me.

"Yes, Sir." I decided to address him as Sir, figuring it would be best to stay on this man's good side.

"And what did you do when you found her?"

"I called an ambulance, and then my partner, Ivan. As I waited, I carried her out, back towards the main road so it would be easier for the ambulance to get her."

"And what were her injuries, do you remember?" Why was this man involved in this?

"Yes, Sir. She had a hairline fracture, bruises on her neck, arms and legs. She had broken and bruised ribs. And…" I faltered a little, "and she was raped too, Sir." I swallowed, clenching my fists slightly. I hated thinking about that, about what he did to her. Part of me was still in denial that was Isaiah all along.

"I see. And she told you who attacked her?" he enquired.

"Not right away. It was only after I, myself was injured, that she told the police who it was."

"And what was his name?"

"Isaiah Dashkov."

"He attacked you, yes?"

"Kind of."

"Would you care to elaborate?" He eyes were burning into me. I was taller, and definitely stronger than this man, physically. But for some reason I felt like that didn't matter, like he could do whatever he wanted and get away with it.

"He shot me, after I defended one his victims."

"And who was this victim?"

"Rose. Rosemarie Hathaway, Sir."

"Were you with her, when he attacked her the second time?"

"No, Sir. She was on her way to meet me, and I became concerned when she didn't show up on time. Not long later, she called me, but she didn't speak to me. I heard her voice, and the voice of a man. I decided to go out after her, fearing she was in trouble. When I got there, she was injured, but not too badly. I attacked Isaiah in Roses defence, and he shot me. I was told he ran away after."

"Do you know the suspect personally?"

"He worked here, Sir, as an officer. I'd spoken to him a lot inside work, worked with him a lot. I rarely saw him outside of work, and when I did, it was to discuss work matters."

"I see. Did you know of his relationship with Rosemarie? Or any of the other girls?" his tone sounded quite accusing.

"No, Sir. I did not."

"Do you know the victim personally?" I glanced at him nervously.

"Which one?" I asked.

"Rosemarie Hathaway."

"Yes, Sir. I do."

"What kind of relationship do you have with her?"

I cleared my throat. "I currently have a romantic relationship with Rosemarie Hathaway, Sir."

At this information, his eyes narrowed at me. I wonder why? Did he know her?

"Did this happen straight away?" his tone was cold, clipped.

"No, Sir. We became friends, and shortly after it developed into a relationship."

"So, you're in a relationship with the victim?" I simply nodded, already having said this.

"Did you force her into it?" I snapped my head to look at him in shock.

"Of course not, Sir."

"Did you take advantage of her, while her body and mind were surely weakened after the ordeal she had been through?" Is this what this was about? Did they think I'd hurt her?

"I haven't taken advantage of her, I wouldn't do that." I said through clenched teeth, not bothering to say my title for him.

He seemed sceptical, but let it drop.

"With all due respect, Sir. Why are you so interested in this, in Rose?" It was my turn to glare at him now. What if he was threat, a threat to my beautiful girlfriend?

"Do you love her?" he ignored my question and asked his own.

"I don't see what this has to do with the case, or with you."

"Answer the question, Detective." He all but growled at me.

"Answer mine and I will. What do you have to do with this?" I snapped back. He looked slightly stunned that I'd refused him. I'm guessing not many people do that. After a moment, he smirked at me.

"You've got balls Detective, I'll give you that. Fair enough, I have a personal interest in Rosemarie. She doesn't know of me though, and I'd very much appreciate it if you didn't tell her about this little meeting." He said icily. How did he know her?

"Yes. I do love her." I replied, answering his initial question.

"That'll be all, Detective." He dismissed me, and we both stood up. I paused as my hand sat on the door knob. I was probably going to regret saying what I was about to say.

"Mr. Mazur?" I turned back to look at him, lowering my voice, using the tone that I know scared many people. "I don't know you, who you are, or what you do. I don't know why you have such an interest in Rose. But I swear to God, if you hurt her in any way, shape or form, I will kill you myself… Sir."

With that I left the room, but not before I caught sight of his smirk again. I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. It's like he approved of me threatening him. What a strange man.

I went to my desk and I noticed him talking to the Captain. I was watching him, trying to see what he was saying, when his head turned to the side, and I saw his attention had shifted to something new.

Looking over, I realised what it was. Or rather, _who_ it was. Rose.

I instantly shot up and approached her, wary that this man would do something to her. She smiled broadly at me, and leaned up on her tip toes to kiss me on the cheek. I smiled down at her. I hadn't known she was coming here.

"What are you doing here?" I murmured quietly.

"What? You're not happy to see me?" She pouted jokingly. I leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Of course I'm happy. I just wasn't expecting you."

"Well duh, that's what a surprise is, Comrade." She joked. "You do finish now right? I thought I'd come over and we can go straight to yours."

I looked over at the clock and saw it was 6pm.

"Yup, I'll just get my stuff and we'll go." She followed me over to my desk. I looked up to see Mazur walking over to us. I wonder what his first name is.

"Detective Belikov," he nodded at me. Rose looked up at him curiously. It didn't look like she knew him at all. "I just wanted to thank you for your cooperation in today's meeting." He paused and turned to look to at Roza.

"Ah, and you must be Rosemarie?" he spoke softly to her, not like the cruel and cold tone he had used with me. He was sly, like a snake. Zmey.

She took his hand and gave him a slight shake.

"And you are?" She asked him, her tone sounded cautious of this man. She probably got the same feeling I did, uneasy.

"Ibrahim Mazur. But you can call me Abe. It's a pleasure, Rose." So Ibrahim was his name.

And that's when it all clicked into place. Zmey, Mazur, Abe. I'd heard of this man, back home in Russia, and here too. He was a business man, dealing with legal and suspected illegal things. Though nobody had ever found him guilty of anything. I'd also heard that he donates a lot of money to the government, to us in the police force. That must be why he has so much influence here. I don't think anybody wanted to find him guilty of anything, not with the amount of money he gave us.

Back in Russia, they called him Zmey, the serpent. I'd heard of his doings, and I knew I didn't want to fuck with this guy. People ended up dead when you mess with him.

But still, if he was a threat to Rose I would do everything I could to take him out.


	15. Chapter 15

RPOV

"Ready to go?" Dimitri smiled down at me. He took my bag from me and put in the trunk of his car. He'd told me to pack for a few days as he was taking me away for the weekend, as a late Valentine's getaway. We didn't go away on actual Valentines because I had too many assignments to hand in. He wouldn't tell me where we were going, but he did say it would take a five hour drive.

While we were driving I couldn't help but think back to my introduction to Abe Mazur a couple days ago. He struck me as odd. He must've been rich, his clothes looked expensive as hell. Dimitri had told me he had been asking questions about the Dashkov case, and he also told me about his business in legal and illegal dealings, his donations to the police.

"You should stay clear of him, Roza. He's a dangerous man." Dimitri told me. I kept wondering why? Who was this man and why was interested in Isaiah and me?

I sighed and let the thought slip from my mind. Dimitri was taking me on a weekend romantic getaway, and that old man wasn't going to ruin it for us.

I looked over at him where he sat in his driver's seat. His hands were on the wheel, and he was focusing on the road, humming along quietly to whatever crap he was listening to on the radio. We had different music tastes.

His hair was loose today, and he wore his plain black jeans, with a grey tee shirt that fit him perfectly. His duster was in the back seat. As I looked at him, my heart expanded so much I thought it would burst right out of my chest. I placed my hand on his thigh, completely innocent at first. But then , as usual, my mind wandered somewhere dirty, involving Dimitri and some melted chocolate, licking it off my naked-

"What are you thinking about?" He pulled me out of my thoughts and I blushed slightly. His had a ghost of a smile on his face, and one of hands gently squeezed mine before returning back to the wheel. He looked over at me, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"You're blushing. Are you having dirty thoughts already, Roza?" he joked, his grin naughty.

I sighed. "I'm always having dirty thoughts about you." I muttered under my breath. I'm guessing he heard me when he chuckled. My hand was still on his leg, and I knew it was dangerous, but I decided to have some fun. I slowly started moving it, caressing his thigh. I felt his muscles tense under my touch. I smiled seductively as he glanced over to me, a worried look on his face.

"Roza, don't." he warned. I ignored him and moved my hand further up towards his dick. When I reached my destination, I purred, and stroked the ever growing bulge in his pants.

"Roza…" he breathed. "You're going to cause an accident." He groaned as I kept playing with him.

"So pull over then." I purred.

And pull over he did, into a secluded area of course, not just randomly on the side of the road.

As soon as he stopped the car I pulled his mouth to mine. I kissed him deeply before pulling away. He motioned for me to climb on top of him, but I shook my head. As much as I'd love to fuck him in the car, my intention was to just focus on him.

I stared deep into his eyes as my hand found his bulge again, stroking and rubbing it. He closed his eyes and moaned for a moment, before settling his gaze upon me once more. I smirked at him, and my hands fumbled with his jeans button and zipper. I undid them in record time, and pulled his boxers back so his erection sprung free. I smiled and licked my lips in anticipation. For some reason, it always surprised me to see just how big he was.

After giving him one more seductive look, I bent head down and took him in my mouth. My hand wrapped around his shaft and I moved it, slowly at first, up and down, up and down, while my mouth gently sucked on the tip, my tongue swirling around his head.

I heard him groan low in his throat. His hand found my hair, and he ran his fingers through it. When I took him deeper into my mouth, his hands clenched into fists, gripping my hair. I worked away, my head bobbing up and down as I sucked and licked him.

"Roza…" he breathed. "I'm going to come."

I smiled and sucked even harder, taking most of his length into my mouth. It was impossible to take him all in without choking, he was too big.

A moment later he growled and I felt his hot contents spill into my mouth. I pulled away from him and swallowed everything, licking my lips when I was done. He started at me in amazement.

I sat back up in my seat, and pulled my seatbelt on like nothing had just happened. He fumbled with his jeans, fastening them back up, his breathing was ragged.

He looked back over at me and smiled broadly.

"You're unbelievable." He chuckled and leaned forward to kiss me. And then we set off, like I hadn't just given him a blowjob in the middle of nowhere.

A few hours later we finally reached our destination. We walked into a relatively small building that just looked like a house. I realised as we entered that it was just house. In the hall was a desk, with a young woman standing behind on the phone. She hung up and faltered when she looked at Dimitri. She composed herself, plastered a big smile on her face and greeted us.

"Hello and welcome! Are you checking in?" She smiled cheerfully at Dimitri. Typical, so typical.

"Yes we are. Cabin 5, I think" He smiled back, his smile was polite, not flirty. Cabin? Thank God, for a moment I thought we'd be staying this is house. He looked down at me while the woman flicked through her book, looking for his registration. He smiled and placed his arm over my shoulder, leaning forward to press a kiss on my forehead. I looked up at the woman and she frowned slightly Ha! That's right lady, he's mine.

"Okay. Here are your keys, and a map of the area and town nearby. If you need anything, don't be afraid to come and ask! Enjoy your stay." She smiled at me this time. Hmm, maybe she wasn't as bad as I thought.

Dimitri pulled me back to the car and we got in, he set off driving again.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

He smiled and tapped his nose. "Detective secrets."

A minute of driving on a dirt road through some woods, we arrived at a lovely cabin. It was completely surrounded by trees. There was a little dirt path that led up to the door.

"This place has loads of cabins like this dotted around, but they're all spread out, so people can do whatever they want and not be seen." He grinned as he said the last bit. Dirty boy.

He swooped me up in his arms, and somehow unlocked the door and carried me over the threshold, like we were newlyweds.

Inside was beautiful. When you walk through the front door, you're greeted with a warm and homely living room. There was a fireplace on the left side wall. A flat screen TV mounted on the back wall, with a large cream sofa facing it. There was also a small coffee table in between the two, and giant patterned green, red and brown rug on the wooden floor. Around the room were random paintings and flowers for decoration. To the right was a small hall, a door on each side. The end of the hall was open, and I realised it led into the kitchen. It was pretty big, with everything we needed. There was also a dining room table and chairs in the corner of the room. I went back down the hall and through one door was the bedroom. The bed was massive, and it was a four poster bed, with a canopy hanging from it. There was a wardrobe, a smaller dresser and two end tables on either side of the bed, all made of a dark wood. There was also a free standing full length mirror.

At the back of the room was a set of sliding glass doors. I opened them and peeked out. It led into a pretty patio, with a hot tub! Hallelujah! Thank God I packed my bikini. There was also a wooden sofa with cream cushions on it against the cabin wall, a table with a parasol sat in the corner, with single chairs surrounding it.

I walked back through and into the bathroom. It had the usual, a toilet, sink, mirror and shower. But in the corner of the room was a giant rectangular bath, which also doubled as hot tub. TWO HOT TUBS! I was in heaven.

I wandered back into the living room to see Dimitri carrying our bags inside. He plopped them down on the floor and I ran and leapt at him. He caught me and stumbled back slightly. He beamed up at me and I crushed my mouth against his.

"Thank you so much. This is so beautiful!" I squealed with delight.

"Have you seen the hot tubs?" he smirked. He knew I loved hot tubs.

"I've seen the hot tubs." I grinned. Wow. I couldn't believe I get to spend almost three whole days here, just me and Dimitri.

I saw the love shine in his eyes, and it sent shivers down my spine. I pressed my lips to his once more, slowly this time. We kissed softly, our tongues moving together.

"Take me to the bedroom, Dimitri." I murmured against his mouth. He kicked the front door closed with his foot and carried me into the bedroom.

An hour of making love later, we were stood in the kitchen. He wore only his boxers and I wore some panties and his tee. We were both starving after driving for five hours and the… activities that just took place.

It was now 3pm and I watched him as he walked around the kitchen, making us some bacon sandwiches. His body was that of a God. Tanned, tall with lean muscles that flexed and flowed with any slight movement he made. His legs were long and muscular too. Even though he had just made love to me for an hour not ten minutes ago, I had to clamp my thighs together in arousal.

"If you keep looking at me like that, I'm going to have to fuck you on that table, Roza." He whispered huskily, his eyes narrowed at me with lust. He was insatiable.

He wandered over to where I sat at the dining room table and placed two bacon sandwiches in front of me. I ate them in record time. Jesus, they tasted good. He finished his own shortly after I had.

I looked over to him and saw him watching me, the lust still in his eyes. I bit my bottom lip and dragged my eyes over his body. He stood up, picked up our two plates and set them on the kitchen counter. He made his way back to me, and lifted me up easily, like I was a child. He set me down on the table, spread my legs and stood in between them. His mouth attack mine abruptly, his hands grabbing fistfuls of my hair. I moaned into his mouth as he pressed his hips into me.

He yanked the tee over my head, bent down and in one swift motion he had my panties off and threw them on the floor.

The table was too low for him to fuck me standing up, so he grabbed me by my ass and lifted me up. He carried me to the kitchen counters instead and he placed me on the edge. I could feel the wetness between my legs and he's barely even touched me.

I watched as he pulled off his own boxers, and bent down to grab my legs. He moved slowly up my calves, my thighs, my stomach, and my breasts, leaving a trail of kisses in his wake. He finally reached my mouth and I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted him to fuck me senseless. I grabbed his hips and pulled him towards me, making him chuckle. He pressed his erection against me, and I groaned in frustration.

"Oh Roza, what am I going to do with you?" He whispered into my ear, nibbling on my lobe.

"Dimitri..." I moaned.

"What do want, Roza?" He whispered seductively.

"You." I pleaded with him, still trying to pull him to me.

"What do you want me to do to you?" He murmured, his breathe on my neck, his large hands roaming my body, sending shivers down my spine.

"I want you to fuck me." I tried to sound bold, but my voice came out weak, trembling for his touch.

"If that's what you want…" he kissed me softly on my shoulder, while he reached down to grab himself, lining up with my entrance. I whined with anticipation.

He pulled away and chuckled. "I like seeing you squirm, Roza. I think I'll have some fun first."

I grunted in torture. He dropped to his knees and his mouth found _me_. I leaned back on my elbows now, moving my hips as his mouth licked and sucked me. Soon, his fingers joined in the action, inserting them in me, teasing me and rubbing my G-spot.

"Dimitri…" I moaned, letting him know I was close. Just as I was about to come, he pulled away, denying me of my release. He kissed my thighs and calves for what felt like forever, but was probably less than a minute. His mouth moved back to me, starting his pleasuring torture again. As soon as I was about to climax he drew away from me once again.

I growled in frustration. He did this to me, over and over. Bringing me tantalisingly close and then punishing me, not letting me have what I wanted. I was bursting at the seams, waiting to explode completely.

"Dimitri!" I barked. He laughed, deep and throaty, like sweet melted chocolate. He stood up and I leaned forward, gripping his biceps. His mouth found mine and he pulled me into a deep kiss. Too quickly, he pulled away slightly.

"Are you frustrated, Roza?" he murmured, leaning his forehead against mine.

"Yes." I breathed, incapable of actual sentences.

"Good." He nibbled on my bottom lip. "What do you want?" he asked me again.

"You, please." I begged.

"Mmm, I like when you beg. Do it again." He demanded.

"Please, Dimitri." I whimpered. He placed a kiss on my shoulder and grabbed himself again.

Slowly, too slowly he gently pushed into me slightly. Only his head was in, and my head fell back, my eyes closed, waiting for his full length. He pulled back out, and once again, he pushed in a little bit, slowly. He was killing me. He did this one more time before I caved.

"Dimitri, just fuck me already!" I yelled in frustration. He chuckled and then slammed into me.

A gasp escaped from my lips as I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling myself closer to his body, changing the angle of my hips to allow him to penetrate me deeper. I arched my back and squirmed with pleasure as he drove into me, pounding with a vengeance now.

"Oh, fuck! Dimitri!" He placed one his large hands on my shoulder to hold me in place as he fucked me. His other hand went down and stroke my clit. He used his thumb and rubbed circles around it.

I could feel my orgasm building and building. So, so close, finally. I wrapped my legs around his hips, my head lolling back, my eyes squeezed tightly closed.

He growled and placed his hands under my thighs and ass. He picked me up off the counter, still inside me and walked over to the wall. He practically slammed me against it, but it didn't hurt. My hands grabbed at his hair mercilessly as he pounded into me against the wall.

"Come for me, Roza. Come with me." He growled, his thrusts becoming frenzied. He was close, and so was I.

A couple of thrusts later my world exploded around him. I screamed out of pure bliss and satisfaction, as a growl left his mouth and he thrust into me a few more times before stilling, burying his face in my hair.

My walls tightened around him with my orgasm, the most powerful one I'd had yet, but they started relaxing as the orgasm faded shortly after. I shivered with the aftermath.

Still holding me, still inside me, Dimitri walked into the bedroom and laid me down on the bed, pulling out of me as he did. I clambered up the bed, and he climbed in beside me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me as close as physically possible to him. He pulled the covers over us and kissed me on my forehead.

"I love you, Roza. So, so much." I smiled into his chest.

"I love you more, Comrade."

"That's not possible." I felt his chest rumble as he spoke and chuckled.

I woke up, glancing at the clock I realised it was 6pm. We'd slept for a couple hours, exhausted from travelling and sexual activities.

My phone was buzzing, I realised that's what had woken me up. Dimitri groaned beside me and rolled over. I quickly got out of bed and pulled on his tee shirt. It was like a nightie on me. I grabbed my phone and went outside on to the patio, sitting in the cushioned chair, before answering it.

"Hey Rose, how's the getaway going?" Lissa asked me. I smiled widely.

"Great. It's perfect Liss. We're in this secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere, and it's beautiful." I all but sighed with delight as I sat looking at the view. Directly in front of me was a clearing, vast land, hills rolling with snow topped mountains in the distance. The sun was just setting behind them, and it took my breath away. To my left and right the woods picked up, trees and bushes and flowers. I was still apprehensive about woods, because of my attack, but I knew I was safe with Dimitri.

Lissa squealed down the phone and made me promise to tell her everything as soon as I got back.

I was looking at the suns fading light on the trees, when I saw a shadow of a man amongst them. I gasped and quickly stood up. Nobody should be out here.

"Liss, I gotta go. I'll see you Monday." I hung up before she had the chance to say goodbye, and threw my phone on the chair. I slowly walked over the length of the patio, and stood when I reached the edge of its boundaries. I squinted but I couldn't see the figure anymore. Hmm, how odd. Maybe I imagined it? It was probably the light and trees playing tricks on you Rose, don't be such a baby.

I screamed when a pair of hands grabbed me on my waist.

"Wow, hey, it's just me Roza." Dimitri said as I spun around, ready to face my attacker.

My body sagged with relief as he wrapped his strong arms around me, and cradled me to his chest.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voiced muffled in my hair.

"Yeah, I just… I thought I saw…" What did I see? I wasn't sure. "Never mind, it's nothing. Let's go back inside, it's pretty cold out here."

He ushered me inside to the warmth of the cabin and closed and locked the patio door.

We spent the rest of the night enjoying each other's company, completely uninterrupted. We watched soppy movies, danced together, cooked together and made love until we couldn't possibly do it anymore.

"Ugh, how much further is it? My feet ache, Comrade." I complained at Dimitri again. It was Saturday dusk, and we'd decided to go hiking someplace near our cabin. We were currently walking uphill, in our hiking gear. Dimitri had a backpack on too.

"Trust me, Roza. It'll be worth it, just a little further."

A little further turned out to be fifteen minutes later. But he was right, it was worth it. We'd reached a large wide flat ledge on a small mountain that we were climbing. The view was breath-taking from up here.

The sun was setting now, it was pretty low in the sky, lighting up the trees, turning them from brown to a shining gold. To the east, we could see the whole town in the distance. We'd gone there earlier today, had a little look around. We did a bit of shopping but somehow ended up in a library, looking at some stupid book called 100 Best Places to Visit in the World. One of them was the Corn Palace in South Dakota. We'd had a good laugh at some of the places it suggested.

We sat on the ledge on the mountain for an hour or two. We watched the sun set together, we watched the moon take its place. It happened to be a super moon tonight, it was huge, and beautiful, and the stars shone brightly above our heads. I'd never seen so many before. Dimitri said it was because we were in a less polluted area.

"It's so beautiful." I breathed.

"Yes, you are." Dimitri whispered. I turned my head and beamed at him. He was about to kiss me when he pulled away, reaching for something in his pocket. His phone, it was ringing.

"Belikov." He answered firmly after checking caller I.D. I'm guessing it was work related, he would've just said hello otherwise.

He frowned as someone spoke to him on the phone.

"Sir, I'm on a small vacation, can't it wait until Monday?" he asked. After a moment of the other person talking, he sighed.

"Yes, Captain. It'll take me a while to drive back. Yes, 6 a.m. See you then, Sir." This time it was my turn to frown.

"Who was that?" I asked, though I already knew. It sounded like we'd have to leave our little getaway.

"It was the Captain." He sighed. "I'm sorry Roza, another girl was found dead tonight, and he wants me back now."

"Tell him he can go fuck himself, this is our weekend away, and he can't make you go in!" I pouted.

Dimitri pulled me into his arms. "Yes, he can. And he is. I'm sorry Roza, I'll take you away again, somewhere even better next time." He murmured and kissed the top of my head.

"Come on, we have to go." He gave me one last kiss before pulling me up to my feet.

It took us an hour to walk back to the cabin, and ten minutes after that, we were packed up and in the car. I scowled as I looked out of the window. We should've been back in the lovely cabin, with Dimitri peeling off the sexy lingerie I'd bought specially for him. I sighed, I guess I'd have to use it some other day. And then we'd take a dip in the hot-

"Oh my God." I spoke aloud as I realised. "We didn't even get to use the hot tub." I grimaced. Why is life so cruel?

Dimitri laughed at the obvious horror on my face.

"Don't worry Roza, I'll take you somewhere with three hot tubs next time." Dimitri picked up my hand and placed a soft kiss on my knuckles.

"Three? Don't be ridiculous, Comrade." I joked, earning a smirk from him.

"I know we have to go home early, and that really sucks, but the time we've had out here, well it's been amazing, Comrade." I leaned over gave him a peck on the cheek. "Thank you, I love you." I whispered.

He turned and smiled at me. One those wonderful full smiles he only ever seems to show around me.

"I love you more, Roza."


	16. Chapter 16

RPOV

It was Wednesday, the middle of the week. I had a class at 1pm so I decided to pop into my favourite café on my way home from Dimitri's. I'd stayed there last night, and slept in until half 11. He'd left me a little sweet note on his pillow.

 _My dearest Roza,_

 _I've had to leave early, because some of us have a job to do around here. Stay as long as you like, help yourself to anything. What's mine is yours, Милая моя._

 _Love,_

 _Dimitri x_

He was so sweet, I realised I had a goofy smile on my face and quickly wiped it off, seen as I was walking alone through the town.

I thought back to what he'd told me about this new murder. They had let him work on this case now, because he was a great Detective, the best of them actually, and they could use his help to find Zi.

Another girl. Another girl dead, and because of one sick man. It had to be him, she was found with all the same signs of attack as the rest of the girls, she'd been killed the same way too. Her throat slit. I felt sick thinking about it. The only thing different was she hadn't been found in the same place. They'd found her about an hour drive away, in a small forest in the middle of nowhere. I hoped they'd catch him soon, before some else turned up dead. That includes me.

I'd gotten my doughnuts and walked out of the café when I saw him.

Abe Mazur. He caught my gaze and strolled over to me, two men following closely behind him. Bodyguards?

"Günaydın, Rose. How are you on this fine day?" Abe asked me. Huh, 'Günaydın' was Turkish for Good morning. Judging from his looks and complexion, I'm guessing he was actually Turkish. Little does he know, I spoke Turkish. My mother taught me when I very young, for whatever reason, I don't remember. I decided to keep that information to myself for now. It could come to my advantage.

Today he wore a purple suit, his gold jewellery shining brightly in the sunlight. This man gave me the creeps. And I didn't like that. I stood up straight and crossed my arms over my chest. I wouldn't let him belittle or frighten me.

"Old man. What are you doing here?" I asked boldly, showing him I wasn't frightened by him and his henchmen. He chuckled.

"I'm just enjoying a stroll on this sunny day." He replied, gesturing around with his hands. His eyes constantly had a look of mischief in them.

"Why were you so interested in my attack?" I decided to ask him outright. He didn't know me, and I didn't know him, so why was he interested?

"No reasons that are of your concern, Rosemarie." Ugh, he sounded like a parent, scolding a child. Well I'm not your child, you dick.

"Whatever. My life is none of your business, so leave me alone." I hissed. His bodyguards moved a tiny bit closer.

"On the contrary, your life is very much my business." He looked at me like I was a cub.

"Why? You don't know me, and I sure as hell don't know you."

"You'll find out soon enough." He replied casually as he started walking away from me. I narrowed my eyes as I watched him walk away.

God, he was unnerving. I walked back to campus, eating my chocolate doughnut on the way and quickly stopped off at my dorm before I had to go to class.

"Rose." Mia walked over to me as I unlocked my door. She thrust a box cardboard box into my arms. "This is for you. Some guy outside just told me to give it to you." She walked away without saying goodbye. Jeeze, someone was in a bad mood. I walked into my room and closed the door. I wonder what it is, who it was from. Maybe it was a gift from Dimitri.

I sat on my bed and opened the box. Inside were loads, and I mean loads, a shit tonne of red rose petals. But they were blackened, crusty and dried. They were dead petals. I placed my hand inside and rooted around, wondering if there was anything else, or a note or something. Something pricked my finger and I quickly pulled my hand out, wincing in pain. A thorn was stuck in the pad of my index finger.

I gripped it and quickly yanked it out, shivering. I hated when things got stuck like that, like spelks, or glass or whatever. I watched as a bead of blood oozed out and ran down my finger. I quickly wiped it away and put a plaster on to stop the little blood flow. I tipped the boxes contents out onto my desk. All the petals fell out, with lots of thorns mixed in with them. A feeling of dread rose within me. Who would send me this? I realised a note was taped to the bottom of the box. I grabbed it and opened it.

 _You'll get everything that's coming to you, you stupid bitch._

No name. Just a threat. With a gasp, I realised this must be from Isaiah, because who else would it be from? I shoved everything back in the box and sat on my bed, trying to control my breathing. What was he going to do to me? Would he come back, finish me off like the other girls. I needed to tell Dimitri. I'd decided I'd tell him tonight, seen as I was going over to his later on. If I told him now, he would just worry all day, and I didn't want that.

I got changed and headed off to class, leaving the box of death in my room. Two hours later, class was finished. I was walking back to my dorm when I heard someone shout my name.

"Rose! Wait up." Mason ran up to me. I hadn't spent much time with him recently, and I felt bad. He used to fancy the hell out of me, but I never returned his feelings.

"Hey, Mase. How's it going?" I asked him, smiling at him. Mase was such a good, nice guy. Even just his presence soothed me. I decided to try and make more of an effort with him, be a better friend.

"I'm good. How are you? I haven't spoken to you in ages." He eyed me sideways, shooting me an accusing but friendly look.

"I know." I sighed. "I'm sorry Mase, I've been super busy lately. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Deal. So, have you heard about Mia?" he asked me.

"No, what about Mia?" I asked. She was in a bad mood earlier.

"Her and Andre broke up a few nights ago, I think. She's pretty upset." Huh, that would explain her mood earlier today.

"Really? Do you know why?" They always seemed so good together.

"I think he cheated on her. Maybe you should talk to her, she probably needs it." He was right.

"Yeah, I will." We'd reached our dorm now. Mase lived in my building, on the bottom floor.

"Hey, Eddie and I are going to see that new horror movie tonight, if you wanna come?"

"Thanks Mason, but I've already got plans for tonight. Some other time?" I asked.

"Sure, see you around." We said our goodbyes and I headed upstairs. I knocked on Mia's door, but there was no answer. I decided to text her, just to let her know she could talk to me if she wanted to. I worked on an assignment in my room until 5 pm came around. I changed straight into my workout clothes. Dimitri was going train me up tonight. I didn't need to pack a bag to stay at Dimitris now, some of my clothes now lived at his place, taking up some room in his wardrobe. I did pick up the box of death to give to him. He'd probably do police stuff on it, like testing for fingerprints and what not.

He greeted me warmly when I arrived at his flat, swooping me up into his arms. I noticed he was wearing his workout clothes too, some grey joggers and a black top. He set me down and I walked into the living room. He'd moved the sofas out of the way, leaving a wide open space for us to work out. I also noticed some weights in the corner. He must've bought them for this purpose.

"I bought the weights so we could work out here, instead of going to the gym." He spoke, standing behind me, placing his hands on my waist.

"What's this?" he asked, nodding towards the box of death.

"Uhm, yeah. Promise me you won't flip out?" I asked him as I turn my body to face him. His face turned into a frown, confused by my request. He nodded but he didn't promise. I continued anyway.

"Mia gave me this today. She said some guy gave it to her outside of our dorm." I paused as I opened the box, showing him what was inside.

"Dead rose petals?" he asked, his body going frigid.

"Yeah, lots of them. There's also thorns in there too, one got stuck in my finger." I held up my plastered finger as evidence and shivered again. I handed the box over to him and pulled the note out of my pocket. I gave that to him too.

I watched, worried as he read the note. His face became furious.

"Was the note in the box?" He asked, his voice harsh.

"Yeah, taped to the bottom. There's nothing else in there, I checked."

"Who do you think this is from, Rose?" He asked me as he put the note back in the box, closed it and walked into the kitchen, setting it down on the counter.

"Isaiah. Who else would do this?" I asked. He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight.

"I won't let him near you. I won't let him hurt you. You know that right?" He whispered into my hair. He was very protective of me.

"I know, Comrade." I mumbled into his chest. I was safe here, in his arms. He pulled away slightly to give me a kiss on the lips.

"I'll take the box into work tomorrow. Have people run tests on it. Hopefully he fucked up, and we'll be able to find him."

"Uhm, there's something else you should know…" I trailed off, unsure of his reaction.

"What is it?" He spurred me on.

"I saw Abe today, you know, the pirate mobster guy?" I called him that, because of his flashy clothes and bad attitude.

"What did he want?" Dimitri froze, waiting for my reply.

"Nothing really. I just bumped into him and he said he was out for a stroll." What a strange man.

"If he tries to talk to you again, you call me straight away, okay? I don't trust him" He said. I nodded and agreed.

"For now, I want to teach you some self-defence." He pulled me into the centre of the living room and begun his lesson.

The lesson went on all night. He taught me some defence moves, how to get out of certain holds and stuff like that. I wasn't very strong though, he said it would be easier if I was stronger. After he showed me the basic moves, he set me the task of working out with the weights. He joined me, using much heavier ones though. God, he was so strong.

I wanted to be strong like him. I wanted to be able defend myself if necessary. I didn't want to be a weak damsel in distress anymore, afraid of everyone and everything. I wanted to be the old Rose Hathaway, a total badass.

Милая моя (Milaya Moya) – My Dear


	17. Chapter 17

RPOV

"Perfect." I whispered to myself in my bathroom mirror. I was wearing the lingerie I bought for Valentine's, but I never got the chance to wear. It was now the following Friday night, and I'd told Dimitri I wouldn't be coming over as I had to study. He'd believed me, but little does he know it's all a big lie. I'm going to show up at his door, dressed up like this and get the payback I'd been wanting ever since he tortured me in the cabin. You know, when he kept bringing me to the edge, and denying me of release for a very long time, yeah, that.

Well tonight, I was getting revenge. Nobody fucks with Rose Hathaway… well, Dimitri does, but I quite liked that. Okay, I loved that.

My entire outfit was black. I wore a black Basque, with sheer lace down the sides, and a solid satin panel running down the middle. It was strapless and cupped my breasts amazingly. I also wore a standalone waspie, made entirely of black lace, with boning for structure. I had on a small plain black g-sting underneath, and suspenders with black thigh high stockings, with a lace trim around the top. My hair was down in loose curls, and I didn't bother putting any make up on. I knew Dimitri would prefer me au natural. I admired my tattoos, I always forgot I even had them, they were just such a natural part of me. Dimitri had admitted once he was never a big fan of tattoos, but he loved them on me. I longed for another one, to add to my collection.

I decided to go even sexier and throw on a pair of thigh high, black leather boots. I put on my black trench coat, so it covered my outfit. I picked up the small weekend bag that I'd packed and headed out of the door.

It was late so I drove to Dimitri's instead of walking. I parked my car at the very back of the car park of his apartment building. I decided to leave my bag in the car for now, it ruined the look I was going for, and I'd doubt I'd need it tonight anyway.

I pushed all of the buttons on the callbox like I always did, and sure enough, some dumb idiot let me in.

I sauntered up the stairs, feeling like a Bond girl or something. No clothes under my coat, just underwear.

 _Knock. Knock. Knock_.

I heard his footsteps as he walked towards the door.

I wish I'd brought a camera to take a picture of the complete and utter surprise on his face when he opened his door.

"Roza… I, what are you…" he trailed off as his eyes roamed over my body, becoming dark and hungry. They lingered on the boots for a few seconds before returning to meet my gaze. Ha! He hadn't even seen what was underneath yet.

"Hey, Comrade." I purred as sexy as I could, and quickly undid the belt and buttons on my coat. I whipped it open and watched as his jaw practically hit the floor.

DPOV

I sighed as I sat on the couch with Nikita. I missed Rose. I'd barely seen her all week, because I'd been so busy at work, what with another death happening. Same as always, no evidence, same death style. I knew it was him, I just fucking knew it was. And sooner or later, I would find him, and Roza would be safe, other women would be safe from him.

I'd given to the box to some specialists too. Unfortunately, the writing didn't match the style we had of Isaiah's usual writing. Maybe he had changed it, or gotten someone else to write it for him? Perhaps someone was helping hide him, because he was doing a damn good job of staying hidden. I sighed as all the thoughts constantly flowed through my mind.

Rose had been working on some assignments she had due. I was hoping to spend the weekend with her, like we usually do, but she called earlier and told me she really had to study if she wanted to do well on her work. I agreed, her work was much more important than spending a night with me. It was her future, and I wanted her to do the best she possibly could.

It was strange, how strongly I felt for her. We'd only been together for a month and half now, it would've been two and half months if she hadn't broken up with me, but I loved her so much, and I knew she loved me all the same. I thought about what growing old with her would be like. She'd move in, we'd get married, have loads of little children, and they would grow up, and I'd kill any men who broke my daughters (or sons, I'm not prejudiced) hearts. And they'd have children of their own, and Rose and I would live happily ever after, at the Corn Palace or something, knowing her. I smiled at the thought of our future together. She was the one, I just knew it.

A knock on the door brought me out of my day dreaming. I wonder who that was, it was pretty late, 10pm. I swear to God, if it's Emily, well, she can go fuck herself.

I opened the door and to my complete surprise, my beautiful girlfriend was standing there.

"Roza… I, what are you…" My words faded as I noticed what she was wearing. She had on a black trench coat, buttoned up, and the sexiest boots I've ever seen. They were black, and went all the up her beautiful legs, over her knees, and stopped mid-thigh. I also noticed a little bit of lace popping out from under them, and suspenders going up under her coat.

 _Oh my God, what is she wearing under that coat?_ I thought, hungrily.

"Hey, Comrade." She all but purred at me. Her hands moved to her belt, undoing it, and then the same with the buttons of her coat. She grasped the edges of her coat and pulled them open, holding them there, giving me a view of what she was wearing underneath.

Or what, she _wasn't_ wearing underneath.

I felt my pants tighten immediately. She had on all black lingerie, lacy and stuff. I didn't really know how to describe it, only that is was the sexiest thing I'd ever seen.

She placed a hand on my chest and walked forwards, pushing me back as she did so. She closed the door behind her, grabbed my hand, and led me into my bedroom.

"Wait here." She told me sternly, and I did, like a dog. I'd do just about anything she told me to do right now.

She came back with the single spinny chair that was usually placed at my desk in the living room. She wheeled it into the centre of the room.

"Sit." She ordered. I did. She dropped her coat to the floor and walked over to me, and sat on my lap, straddling me. She pulled my mouth to hers and kissed me deeply. Instinctively, my hands went to her waist, but she slapped them away.

"No touching." She warned, before kissing me again.

I couldn't help it, I needed to touch her. My hands trailed up her thighs, but she slapped them away again. She stood up and grabbed the hem of my shirt, pulling it up and over my head.

"Take your jeans off." She demanded as she walked over to my wardrobe. I stood up and swiftly and took them off, leaving me in just my white Calvin's. Roza narrowed her eyes at me, I knew she liked me in these underwear.

I sat back down on the chair, assuming this was what she wanted.

She came back with a plain black tie. She grabbed my hands, and pulled them behind the chair. She tied them together at the wrists with my tie.

When she was satisfied with the knot, she sat back down on my lap, straddling me once more. She kissed me again, and I moved my hands, testing her restraints. She'd done a good job, I couldn't get out of it. She grinned wickedly against my lips.

"I told you, Dimitri. No. Touching." I pouted at her, making her laugh.

She walked out of the room for a minute, and came back in with the dock. She put on some music, I think it was Paradise Circus – Massive Attack. Whatever, I didn't really care about the music. My eyes and every other part of my mind, body and soul was completely focused on Roza. She began moving, dancing to the slow beat. Her hands lightly touched her body, and my hands twitched, wanting to feel her soft skin beneath my fingers.

Suddenly, I knew what she was doing. She was getting revenge, for that time in the kitchen in the cabin last week. And, God, was it working. I wanted to touch her so badly.

She lifted her leg up, placing her foot on my knee, and slowly unzipped one of her boots, peeling it off her beautiful long leg. She then did the same with the other.

She sat back down on my lap, kissing me again. Her tongue darted out and licked my bottom lip, before pushing into my mouth. I groaned at the contact, and deeper the kiss further as her hips moved, making her press and rub against my erection.

She suddenly got up, and went back to my wardrobe. She got another tie, and this time she blindfolded me with it. No touch, no sight, this girl was killing me.

I felt her hands run over my arms, feeling the muscles there. She continued her journey, over my shoulders, down over my chest, down my stomach. Her fingers trailed lightly at the waistband of my boxers. I shivered under her touch. I felt her lips now, replacing her fingers on my body. She trailed kisses all over me, leaving me wanting more. I felt her hands on my thighs now, rubbing up and down softly. Her fingers pinged at my waistband, before pulling at them, I shifted slightly so she could get them off. I was completely naked, tied to a chair and blindfolded. There's a first time for everything I guess.

Roza started teasing me even more by placing kisses all over my body expect my dick, the one place I really wanted her to. She licked and nibbled every inch of me, apart from there. This went on and on until I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted her, I wanted to touch her, to make love to her.

"Roza…" I breathed. I felt her smile against my skin.

"What's the matter, baby?" She purred.

"I want you, please." I begged, and felt her sit on my lap. Her hips grinded against mine, a low growl escaped my throat.

"Mmm, I like it when you beg. Do it again." She mimicked what I said to her when I tortured her.

I decided to play along. Not to sound big headed or vain, but I knew Roza couldn't resist me when I spoke to her in a certain way, looked at her in certain way, touched her in a certain way.

"Roza…" I breathed in that deep way she loved so much. "I want to see you, and your beautiful body. I want to touch you, all of you."

"If you could touch me, what would you do?" She asked, her hips moving slightly, still grinding against me. I smiled internally, knowing I had her attention.

"First, I'd admire the way you look, in that sexy little outfit you have on for me. I'd glide my fingers gently down your body, until I reach your thighs. Then I'd peel off your stockings slowly, one after the other. And I'd so the same with everything you're wearing, and once you're naked on my bed, I'd admire you again. My beautiful girlfriend, who I love very much." I leant forward and placed a kiss on what I thought was her neck. She ran her hands through my hair, no doubt just as frustrated as I am.

"I'd do this, all over your amazing body." I murmured against her skin as I continued kissing her neck. She moaned in response.

"Untie me, Roza, let me see and feel you. I know you want to." I whispered, my accent thicker and heavy with desire. I felt her fumble with my blindfold, and one moment later I got to gaze upon her beauty again. She smiled down at me, and the sight simply took my breath away. She reached around me and untied my hands too. As soon as they were free, I grabbed her thighs and stood up, lifting her with me. I placed her down on the bed, so she was sat on the edge. And I did exactly what I'd told her I would do. I undid her suspenders, and slowly rolled the stockings down, letting my fingers glide over her legs as I did so. I took off whatever that lacy thing around her hips was called, her top, everything, until she was completely naked before me.

As she lay back on the bed, I stood for a few moments and admired her. I still can't believe this women existed. She was a Goddess, and she was all mine.

I slowly crawled up the bed so I ended up hovering over her, pressing my chest against hers, but all my weight on my elbows so I didn't crush her. I kissed her face, her jaw, her neck, every part of her, slowly and softly, causing her to gasp and moan.

My hands roamed over her delicious body, lightly caressing her curves. When I reached her thigh, I pulled it up, and she wrapped it over my waist, along with her other leg.

She snaked her arms around my neck and pulled my lips to hers. I kissed her with all the passion and love I had for her, my tongue working with hers in perfect sync. A soft moan escaped from her lips, turning me on even more. I growled low in my throat in return.

We kissed for a long time, savouring it, taking pleasure from our bodies lightly brushing against each other as we kissed. My hands continued roaming her body, cupping her breasts, which fit perfectly in my large hands.

"Dimitri." She moaned my name. She was tired of just kissing now, and so was I. I moved my hand down to _her_ , my fingers probing, to see if she was ready. And holy shit, was she ready. A moan escaped from my mouth, she was so, so wet for me.

I gripped myself and lined up to her entrance. I kissed her mouth once more, and looked into her pretty brown eyes as I gently pushed inside her. A groan left my lips as I filled her completely, pushing all the way inside. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, pressing into the pillow. I paused for a moment, to let her adjust. When she opened her eyes and looked at me once more, I started my rhythm, thrusting in and out of her, slowly tonight.

"Roza, you feel amazing." I whispered as my head fell forward into the crook of her neck, before planting some kisses there. Her hands trailed over my arms, and down my back as our hips rocked together in total sync, each thrust driving us closer to that perfect edge.

Her fingers found my hair, running them through it. My mouth found hers once more.

"I love you, Milaya." I mumbled against her lips, as I slid in and out of her.

"I love you, Dimitri." She moaned, and bit my shoulder softly. She was close. My breathing was heavy and ragged as I felt my own orgasm grow so close.

She let out a cry of pleasure as she climaxed, her nails digging slightly into my back. I buried myself inside of her as I came with her, my body trembling, her body convulsing around me. Her walls tightened around my length. God, she felt so good.

Her breaths were coming in short, quick pants as her body quivered from her orgasm.

Breathless, I collapsed on top her, as her fingers ran through my hair. Once our breathing had calmed down, I kissed her shoulder softly before pulling out, and lying down next to her. She turned off the lamp and I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to me. She turned away from me so I was spooning her, her bum pressed against my crotch.

I stretched my other arm out under her so she could rest her head on it, my other hand wrapped over her stomach, pulling her as close as possible. I loved the way her soft body felt in my strong arms. I'd protect her until my death.

A few minutes later, I heard her breathing deepen, soft snores coming from her. I kissed her hair.

"I love you, Roza." I whispered, and I let sleep consume me.


	18. Chapter 18

RPOV

Three weeks went by so quickly. Dimitri and I fell into a training routine. We'd practice moves and work out 5 nights a week. The work outs had become more than just weightlifting for my arms. We went running, sometimes bringing Nikita with us. I complained at first, I wanted to learn to fight, to defend myself, not to run.

"What's with all the running, anyway?" I asked him one day as we got back from one of our long and tedious runs. "I mean, I realise the importance of stamina and all that, but shouldn't I be moving on to something with a little hitting?"

He smirked at me in reply.

"I'm serious, Dimitri."

"Hard to tell the difference, Roza." He said. "Okay, say you run into Isaiah at the mall, or anyone threatening for that matter, who happens to be 10 times stronger than you, a foot taller than you. What will you do?" He asked me.

"Depends what store we're in."

He simply looked at me, waiting for a serious answer.

"Fine. I'd use all the badass self-defence moves I know and take him out." He took a step towards me, raising his eyebrow, crossing his muscular arms over his chest.

"Oh, in the middle of the crowded mall? And what will you do after? Or what will you do if he overpowers you and the moves don't work, simply because you're not strong enough." I dragged my eyes away from his lean body and glowered, I didn't like him thinking I wasn't strong enough for anything. In these past few weeks I realised I wanted to be Dimitri's equal, I didn't want him to see me as weak ever again.

"Okay, I'll knock him out, incapacitate him." I told him.

"Ignoring the fact that you don't have a weapon to do that, how will you compensate for the fact that he may be a foot taller than you?" He asked me.

"All right, I give up. You've already got the answer. You're just messing with me. I'm at the mall and I see Isaiah. What do I do?"

He just looked at me and didn't blink. "You run."

I repressed the urge to throw something at him. God, I loved him, but he was frustrating as hell sometimes.

He made me do all sorts of exercises that targeted different areas of my body, like squats, push ups, planking, everything you could think of. I liked it though, it was a good outlet for any anger I had for whatever reason. My body was already much leaner, fitter and stronger. My muscles were more prominent, more defined. I even had a toned stomach, giving me very light abs. I couldn't have been happier. Dimitri gained some more muscle too, which just made him even sexier, if that was even possible.

As well as the defence moves, and after some more complaining about too much running, he'd also showed me some attack moves too, God forbid I needed to use them on anybody if self-defence failed.

"Little girl!" Adrian called for me as I walked across campus, just finishing my last Friday class. I looked back and waited for him as he ran up to me, carrying a massive blank canvas. Adrian's subject of choice was Fine Art. I hadn't seen much of his work, but what I had seen was beautiful, he was amazing at it.

"Ivashkov." I greeted him. His nose had healed now, though still bent slightly to the right. For some reason, as much I love Adrian and as uncalled for as it was for Dimitri to punch him, I was weirdly smug and proud that my boyfriend, Dimitri, was clearly stronger than him, and had managed to do much damage with a simple punch. He had apologised though, so that was good.

"Finished your class?" I nodded in reply. "Me too, I'll walk with you." And we set off walking, chattering about a girl he'd slept with last night. I shook my head, listening to his sexual escapades amused me. How he even managed to get a girl to sleep with him after using his stupid chat up lines confused me.

"Have you been working out Rose? You look… not thinner, but… leaner." He told me. I smiled smugly.

"Yeah, I've been working out with Dimitri. He's been teaching me some self-defence, you know…" I trailed off. Adrian was one of the few people that knew the full extent of what happened to me.

Trying to keep the mood light, he made a joke. "Oh god, _you're_ not going to punch me, are you? First your boyfriend, and now you." He joked, shaking his head.

I was about to make a snarky Rose Hathaway reply, when he suddenly stopped walking, gazing at something to the left on the field. I glanced over and saw Viktoria standing and chatting with two other girls but that was it.

"What the hell are you looking at Adrian?" I asked, confused as he stood staring over at Viktoria. He didn't fancy her did he? That wouldn't end well with him and Dimitri again.

"That girl. Over there. She's… She's…" he struggled for words.

"Viktoria?" I asked, confused. "If you go there Adrian, Dimitri _will_ punch you again. Probably even harder." Dimitri was very protective of Vika. Plus, I'm pretty sure she still fancied Ivan. I'd have to ask her about that, and see if she's gotten anywhere with him.

He looked back at me, shaking his head. "No, not Viktoria. I mean, yeah she's pretty, but I'm talking about the blonde one she's standing with. She's gorgeous."

I started walking towards the trio, I'd figured I'd introduce myself and Adrian. He quickly followed behind me.

The closer I got, the better I could see her. He was right. She was beautiful. She was about my height, really skinny, perhaps too skinny though. She had layered golden blonde hair that reached just down past her shoulders. She also had large brown eyes that shimmered golden in the sunlight. Her make up gave her a natural look, and I noticed she had a flower tattoo on her right shoulder, a lily, I realised.

"Hey, Vika." I said as we finally reached them. I looked over to Adrian and saw he was still completely mesmerised by this blonde girl. I'd never seen him like this before, not even with me.

"Hey Rose, Adrian." She nodded to him but he didn't notice. "Guys, these are my friends. This is Sydney." Viktoria gestured to the blonde lily girl. "And this is Angeline." She gestured to the other girl standing with her. She was an inch or two shorter than me, with long, dark auburn hair with gold and copper highlights. She also had blue eyes, which looked at me sceptically. She seemed like the type of girl to hold her own. She also looked a little young, probably a first year like Viktoria. Sydney, I was unsure of.

I smiled at the two of them politely. If they were Vika's friends, they must be nice enough.

"Hey Sydney, Angeline. I'm Rose. And this," I paused, gesturing to Adrian with my thumb, "is Adrian."

He gave Sydney a full blown smile, and grabbing her hand, bringing it to his lips and placing a kiss on her knuckles. Sydney blushed and pulled her hand away, dropping her gaze to the ground. She seemed very shy.

After a minute of chatter, I made my excuses to leave and said goodbye to everyone, leaving Adrian with the girls. I hoped he wouldn't just have sex with her and drop her, she seemed too nice and innocent for that sort of thing.

As I got back to dorm room as I felt my phone buzz. It was a text from Dimitri.

 _I miss you, can't wait to see you tonight xx_

Awh, cute. I felt a grin and small blush spread over my face. As usual, I was spending my weekend at Dimitri's place. I packed a bag with my toothbrush, baby wipes, fresh clothes and underwear, and stuffed my laptop and notepad in there too so I could work on another assignment.

I drove to Dimitris and got there around 6pm. He planted kisses all over my face when I arrived, and pulled me into a hug, before taking my bags and leading me to the bedroom.

"Whoa, Comrade, I know you've missed me, but I literally just walked through the door. I'm a lady you know, you have to wine and dine me first." I told him. He smirked at me.

"Not that I don't love doing that with you, because I do, but that's not what I'm doing. I have a surprise for you." He smiled, but he looked a little nervous.

Ohh, I squealed internally. I loved presents, surprises, whatever.

He paused and stood behind me before we entered the bedroom. He placed his hands over my eyes so I couldn't see anything and started walking slowly. He stopped somewhere in the room.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Uh huh." I nodded eagerly. He released his hands from my eyes and I blinked a couple times, letting them adjust to the light. We were stood in front of a brand new, white chest of drawers.

"Uhm, you got some new drawers?" I asked. They were nice, but hardly a gift. I was expecting flowers or doughnuts or something. He spun me around so I was facing him. He still looked nervous.

"They're for you." He started and ran a hand anxiously through his hair. "It's just, you spend so much time here, and you have a lot of stuff here, and your clothes have taken over my wardrobe. I thought, maybe… I don't know, I just thought I would get you your own, so you would have a place to put all your stuff while you're here."

I looked at him, bumbling away like he was asking me out a first date. My heart was touched, he'd gotten me my own place to keep my stuff in his apartment. It was such a kind gesture, I couldn't even find words. He mistook this as me disliking the idea.

"Oh God, it was a stupid idea. It's too soon, I see that now, I'm sorry, I should've asked-

"Dimitri." I interrupted his rambling and grabbed his face in my hands. "I love it." I whispered.

"You do?" he mumbled, his face registering surprise.

"Yes, I really do. It's sweet. I love it, and I love you." I sprung up on my tip toes and kissed him. He smiled down at me, and I went about and took all my stuff out of his crammed wardrobe and folded them up, putting them in my new drawers. When I opened the top drawer there was a toothbrush inside, still in its packaging. I held it up questioningly.

"Oh, I bought you a new toothbrush too. So you don't have to constantly bring yours, or use mine all the time." He grinned at me. I smiled back and placed my new toothbrush in the small pot next to his in the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, all my stuff was now in my drawers. It was nice, having something here, something that belonged to me, where I could put everything. It might not seem that big of a deal, but to me and Dimitri, it was the next step in our wonderful relationship.

"Yebat'" Dimitri swore as he leaned into his fridge. I recognised that as the Russian word for 'fuck'.

"What's wrong?" I asked him as I sat on one of the stools in his kitchen. He was cooking us a pasta dish, with a mascarpone sauce. He'd made it for me once before, and it was delicious.

"I thought I had some mascarpone, but I don't." He swore again.

"Potty mouth." I made fun of him, earning a smirk. "I'll go get some." I offered.

"You don't have to go Roza, I will."

"Uh, no you won't, you need to watch the pasta. Unless you want the pasta to burn. Because I can guarantee I'll fuck it up." I told him, placing my hands on his hard chest as he stood in front of me.

"Potty mouth." He mimicked me, and leaned down and pecked me on the lips. He knew I was right though, I was a terrible cook. "Okay, please be careful. If you're not back in twenty minutes I'm coming to get you"

"Always am." I winked and put my trainers on. There was store a 5 minute walk away, I figured there's no point in driving.

I got to the store no problem, and found the mascarpone. I also saw they had Ben & Jerry's on offer. An offer I couldn't resist. I bought a tub of cookie dough for me, which was my favourite, and chocolate brownie for Dimitri, which was his favourite.

I walked happily down the street when I heard a scream. I instantly froze, looking around me. Nobody was around, I was the only person here, and it was dark, a gloomy streetlamp the only source of light.

I walked slowly forward. I could hear grunts and muffled noises coming from somewhere. To my left, a little further ahead was an alley. I put my bags down on the ground on walked slowly towards it. I peeked around the corner, not daring to breathe, to see what happening.

There was man there. He was pretty tall, dark haired. I couldn't see his face as he was turned from me. But from the back, it kind of looked like _him_. Isaiah. He had a girl pressed up against the wall. She looked young, maybe 15 or 16. She was bleeding from her nose, but his hand was covering her mouth, muffling any screams she was trying to make. I saw him yanking at her clothes, pulling her skirt up. Oh my God. Was he was going to rape her?

I'd heard a quote once, I don't remember who said it, or what is was from but in that moment it all made perfect sense.

 _The biggest sin of humankind is indifference… So act as you want others to act when you find yourself in trouble._

I had to do something. I had to. I didn't have time to call Dimitri. I couldn't let this poor girl suffer the rest of her life, be scared like I was all this time. Even if this man was Isaiah, I couldn't let him get away with anything else.

Nobody was there to help me on my night of pain and suffering. But I was here to help her.

With a deep breath, I slowly creeped down the alleyway. The girl widened her green eyes when she saw me, and I put a finger to my mouth in a plea for her to not give me away. She struggled against him still, he was still trying to get her underwear off.

I saw a massive plank of wood. I slowly bent down, as quietly as I could, and picked it up. Unfortunately for me, the wood made a scraping sound on the floor when I picked it up, and the man spun around. I looked at his face, and it wasn't Isaiah. Just some random bastard. I didn't know whether to feel relieved or not. Relieved that I didn't have to face him off now, but pissed that he was still out there, somewhere.

I threw all the stealth I had out the window and waited as he ran towards me. As soon as he got within hitting distance I swung the wood and smacked him over the head, hard. He was surprised by my strength and yelled in pain.

"RUN!" I screamed at the girl. She looked at me, like she wanted to help, unsure of whether to run or not.

"GO! NOW!" I screamed again, and this time she did as I said, she ran down and out of the alleyway without a second glance.

I turned to face the man and he charged at me. He used all of his strength and slammed me against the wall, making my head slam against the bricks. I saw black dots dance sporadically across my eyes.

"You're even better. I think I'll fuck you instead." He spat at me. He seemed taller from a distance but now that he was right in front of me, I realised he was only a little bit taller than me, not much though, and he was strong. As I stared at him, my breathing heavy, his face starting changing, morphing into Isaiah's. And I felt all the anger and hate I had for him, a rapist, and a murderer. I wouldn't be a victim this time, never again, not to him, not to anybody.

Pushing away the blackness that threatened to swallow me whole, I summoned all the strength I had and head-butted him. His head flew back and he staggered back a few steps, as blood spurted from his lip and nose. As he clutched his face, I ignored the pain in my head and ran towards him and kicked him in the balls. Dimitri said it was cruel to kick a man in the balls, but also effective, if he was a threat to me. And boy, he was a threat.

He dropped to his knees and yelled in pain, his hands now clutching his groin. I ran towards him again and kneed him in the face. He fell down to the floor, grumbling and rolling around in pain and I ran out of the alleyway. I saw the girl there, sitting on the curb, gasping for air. She clutched her phone in her hand. I realised she was probably in shock. I looked back and the man was still on the floor. I plucked out my phone and called Dimitri.

"Roza? Is everything okay?" he asked immediately.

I told him I was in trouble and where we were, I also told him to call the police as I grabbed my bags, no way was I leaving Ben and Jerry behind. I grabbed the girl by the arm and dragged her away. We ran towards Dimitris building. As we were running down the street, I saw Dimitri run out of the front doors of his building. He saw me and ran towards us immediately.

"Roza!" he shouted. I ran into his arms and he picked me up off the ground, hugging me tightly. "God, are you okay?" he set me down and looked me over, checking for any damage.

"I'm fine." My head and back hurt a little.

"What happened? I called the police." He said, glancing at the girl stood next to me.

Just as I was about to launch into my story, I heard the sirens and the police pulled up. Two officers got out of the car and walked towards us. Dimitri greeted them by name, I'm guessing he knew them from work.

"There's a man, in that alleyway. He tried to rape this girl, you have to get him before he gets away!" I all but yelled. They got back in the car and drove down the street.

The girl walked away slightly to make a call on her phone. Two minutes later, the police came back, with the man arrested in the back seat of the car. Bastard.

Just then, the doors to Dimitris building burst open, and Emily ran out, her eyes scanning over us, looking for somebody. She saw the girl and ran towards her, taking her in her arms.

"Oh my God, Jill! What happened, are you okay?" Emily asked, she looked genuinely concerned. Weird, I'd only ever seen her bitchy face.

They walked towards to us and they asked Jill and myself what had happened. Jill told her story, about how she was walking to visit her sister, who turned out to be Emily, and the man attacked her.

Dimitri stood with me and listened as I told my story.

"I was walking back from the store, when I heard a scream. There was nobody around but I spotted the alleyway, so I put my bags down and went towards it." Dimitri grimaced, probably wishing I hadn't sought out the trouble. "I saw him, and he had her pressed against the wall, his hand over her mouth. She was struggling against him, and he was trying to lift her skirt up and get her underwear off. So I grabbed the wood and hit him over the head. I yelled for the girl to run away, and he attacked me. He slammed me against the wall. "Dimitri winced again as I told the police what he said to me. "I fought back. I head-butted him, then I kicked him in the balls, and then I kneed him in the face. And then I ran. I called Dimitri, and he called you. And now, well, here we all are." I finished my story, feeling very tired all of a sudden. I think the adrenaline was leaving my body, making me tired. Also, the blow to the head and then head-butting someone probably wasn't helping.

"Rose?" I looked up and saw Emily standing before me.

"Yeah?" I asked her. I couldn't really be bothered to deal with her tonight.

"I just wanted to say thank you, for helping my little sister. If you hadn't done that, well, I don't want to think of what could've happened." She looked at me, sadness and gratitude in her eyes. I was about to reply when she leapt at me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders, and gave me a big hug. She sobbed into my shoulder. I stood completely surprised for a moment, before returning the hug and patting her awkwardly.

"I'm so sorry. For everything I've done to you and Dimitri. I was a bitch, and I'm sorry. Thank you for saving Jill." She cried, and pulled away, walking back to her sister.

The paramedics came then, and they took the girl to the hospital, assuring me she would okay. They also offered to take me, but I refused. They did force me to sit in the back though, and check my head. It wasn't bleeding, and they did tests on my eyes.

"I don't think she has a concussion. But perhaps you shouldn't let her sleep yet, just in case. She'll be alright. A little bruised and banged up, but okay." The paramedic told Dimitri. He thanked her and everybody left soon after.

Dimitri walked with his arm around me, supporting my weight, as we went back into his apartment. I was struggling on the stairs, my body heavy with exhaustion. He simply swooped me up in his arms and carried me into his flat. He put me down and I sat on the stool in the kitchen.

"I would take you to bed, but I'm not risking you falling asleep." He told me, and stood next to me. He sighed and pulled me into his arms.

"Oh Roza, why are you always finding trouble?" he asked me as he stroked my hair.

"I don't, it has a way of finding me" I mumbled into his chest. He chuckled in response.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine Comrade, just tired." I mumbled. He moved away from me and came back with a large glass of water and some painkillers.

"Drink it all." He instructed me. I did. I noticed he was being very quiet.

"Are you mad at me?" I asked him. His face looked surprised by my question.

"Of course I'm not mad at you, Roza. It's just… I don't know, I wished you'd called me before running into danger like that." He told me. I realised he was just worried about me.

"I could've called and waited for you, but by then he would have raped her Dimitri. And I couldn't let that happen. I just couldn't." he leaned forward, and wiped away a tear I didn't realised had spilled over my cheek.

"I know, Roza. It's okay. You did well. In a scary way, I'm extremely proud of you." I smiled up at him, I was proud of myself too.

"Why though? Why did you rush into a situation to help someone you didn't know?"

"Wouldn't you have done the same?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. Of course he would do the same, because that's the type of man he was.

"Of course I would. The biggest sin of humankind is indifference…" he quoted the same thing I'd thought earlier tonight.

"So act as you want others to act when you find yourself in trouble." I finished for him. He looked at me, his eyes full of pride, love and understanding.

That's why Dimitri and I were perfect together. We had the same outlook on life, rushing to help people regardless of the consequences that could come to us. We understood each other perfectly, our souls in complete sync and harmony.


	19. Chapter 19

RPOV

"Roza, it's your birthday for God sake, we're celebrating it whether you like it or not." Dimitri told me, his tone final.

Tomorrow is Monday the 28th of March, my birthday. I would officially be 21 years old. God, I swear I'm going to get wrinkles soon.

"Uhg, fine. But nothing big, just us two." I told him. "Lissa has probably already organised a party and invited the whole damn town, knowing her."

"Good." He breathed a sigh of relief. "We could go for a dinner? I'll take you somewhere nice."

"You don't have to splash out, Dimitri." I didn't want him spending all his money on me.

"Roza, for the last time, it's your birthday, and you're turning 21, no less. I will 'splash out' as much as I like." He walked over to me, where I sat on his kitchen stool, and wrapped his arms around me. "I want to spoil you, you deserve it. And even if you didn't deserve it, I'd spoil you anyway, because I'm bias and I love you." He kissed the top of my head as I leaned into his muscular chest. I breathed in his wonderful scent and mumbled an 'I love you too'.

"Where would you like to go?" He asked as he resumed cooking tonight's meal.

"I don't know, anywhere. As long as you're there, with food, then I'm happy." I smiled up at him, earning a grin in return.

After we'd ate, I worked on an assignment while Dimitri read one of his western novels. I swear he only liked them because he wanted to be some kind of vigilante. He was like my own sexy, Russian Batman.

We were both tired around 11pm, so we went to bed. Of course, when we actually got in bed, we perked up like usual, and Dimitri made love to me, before falling into a deep sleep.

" _Quick, take the picture Roza." Dimitri smiled at me. We were back at the cabin, the one he'd taken me to all those years ago. Dimitri stood on the patio, with our daughter in his arms._

" _Say cheese!" I laughed as they both complied, giving me huge grins, and snapped the picture of them smiling broadly. She had her father's smile._

" _Hey! What about me!" I laughed as our other daughter ran out onto the patio. She launched herself at Dimitri, and he caught her, thank God._

" _Take another picture, momma!" She shouted. She was a lot more like me, loud and put herself out there._

 _I complied, and took the picture of my perfect little family. I rubbed my swollen belly, soon a third would be on the way. I hoped it was a boy, for Dimitri's sake._

 _I looked back up to where my husband stood with our two children, chatting and laughing. I noticed something behind them, a shadow, in the trees. It looked like a man at first, but it grew._

" _Dimitri." I warned him, but he didn't hear me. The shadow was growing and growing, approaching us slowly._

" _Dimitri!" I shouted, but he still didn't hear. How could he not hear me? I was stood right next to him._

 _I tried to take a step forward, but the shadow's tendrils reached out and pushed me back down. I watched it, as tall as the tallest trees now, blocking out the light from the sun. It creeped up behind Dimitri and our children, threatening them._

" _DIMITRI!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. All three of them turned their faces to look at me. The shadow was right behind them, its vines and tendrils snaking over their skin. Their faces turned into looks of horror, blood dripping from their eyes, their noses and mouths._

 _I screamed, hoping it would somehow chase the shadow away. But it didn't, and I watched as my husband and children were completely consumed by the darkness._

I shot up in bed, a scream escaping from my lips.

"Roza?" Dimitri woke up instantly, and wrapped a reassuring arm over my shoulder.

I was gasping and sweating. I couldn't breathe.

"Hey, easy, just breathe with me Roza." He slowed his breathing, telling me to do what he was doing. After a minute my breathing had calmed down and he took me in his arms.

"What was that? Are you okay?" He stroked my hair, kissing my head.

"Yeah. I… it was just a bad dream." I told him, with the image of their blood stained faces still clear in my mind. And that shadow. It was the one I thought I saw before back at the cabin, I was sure of it. Had that been real? No, I'm going crazy, that's definitely it.

"It's okay, milaya. I'm here, it was just a dream." Dimitri whispered into my hair, soothing me. Dimitri fell back asleep shortly after, but I lay awake for most of the night, only falling back asleep when the sun was streaming in through the windows.

I was waiting for Dimitri to pick me up, making finishing touches to my appearance. My hair was down, in loose curls like usual. I had a little make up on, but not too much, so it still looked natural. I wore a knee length, tight black dress, which hugged every curve on my body. I knew Dimitri would love it. I also wore the diamond necklace Dimitri had bought me for Christmas.

Lissa had bought me a new lipstick, amongst other things. It was a soft, natural pink and I also put a little of that on. Dimitri had told me he would give me my gift this evening. I don't know if that meant at dinner, or afterwards at his place.

There was a knock on my door. Huh, he normally just waits by the entrance at the car park. I shrugged and opened the door, my mouth hitting the floor when I saw who it was.

"Hello, Rosemarie." She greeted me. I was at a loss for words. After a moment, the initial shock and surprise changed into feelings of anger and resentment.

"Janine. What a not so pleasant surprise." I said icily to my mother. I called her Janine because I knew it pissed her off. She pushed past me and walked into my room.

"For the last time Rose, I'm your mother, and you should call me that."

"Just because you pushed me out of whatever thing you've got going on down there, doesn't make you a mother." I shot back. "Also, I don't recall inviting you in." I snapped as I closed the door. My mother brought out the worst of me.

She crossed her arms and stood in the centre of the room, facing me. She was so small, but somehow she made me feel even smaller. I crossed my arms right back at her.

"Are you going out?" She asked.

"Yes. I am." I replied, not giving her any details.

"Dressed like that?" She raised her eyebrows at me. I looked down at myself, I thought I looked nice.

"Like what?" I snapped.

"It looks cheap."

"Is that your subtle way of saying I look like a slut?" I asked, my fists clenched and my anger somehow raising.

"Where are you going?" She asked me again.

"Out. I don't know if you remember, _mother_ , but today is my birthday, and I'm going for a meal. Not that it's any of your business."

"I know it's your birthday, Rose. That's why I'm here." She suddenly looked nervous, a look I rarely ever saw on her. She reached into her pocket and pulled something out. Giving me a quick glance she marched over to me and held out her hand. I held out mine and she dropped something cool in the palm of my hand.

It was a necklace, I realised. A thin, delicate silver chain. I looked at the pendant that hung from it. It was like an eye, the outside circle was a light blue, followed by a white circle, and in the centre was the pupil, a very dark blue small circle. It was actually quite beautiful.

"What is this?" I asked her. Was it a gift?

"It's called a _Nazar."_ She paused. "Your father, he gave it to me a long time ago, and now I'm giving it to you." She played with her fingers as I stood, completely perplexed.

"But… buy why? Why are you giving it to me?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "Rose, I know I've been a terrible mother. I realise that. And I want that to change." She continued fidgeting and playing with her fingers. "I know it's not much, but it's a start. I'm thinking of staying, you know, getting a house or something. We could spend more time together…" When I didn't say anything, she continued talking. "It's a form of protection, the necklace. It protects against the evil eye…" My mother trailed off. Did she know I had been attacked? Because I certainly didn't tell her. But here she was, giving me protective necklaces.

I wanted to shout at her, telling her she'd been the worst mother. But I'd also dreamt many times of the day she would realise, and she would want me in her life. And now, here she is, offering me that. Could I turn that down?

"Thank you." I said finally. She looked surprised, probably expecting me to be a total bitch. "I'm not saying I forgive you, and that we can start make up lessons and curling each other's hair, but I guess, I don't know… I guess I'd like it if you stook around." Now I was fidgeting. It was pretty awkward.

A knock on the door made us both jump a little.

"Roza, happy birthday." Dimitri smiled and pulled me into a kiss, not realising there was another person in the room. Honestly, he was supposed to be the best detective, but he couldn't tell when another person was in room with us. I pulled back quickly, and he frowned, looking a little rejected. But that cleared when his eyes flickered to the left and saw my mother.

"Oh, um. Dimitri, this is… my mother, Janine. Ja-Mom, this is Dimitri, my uhm, my boyfriend." I stuttered. I'd never thought I'd be introducing the two, ever.

Dimitri looked at me momentarily surprised, but then became the perfect gentlemen that he is. He approached my mother, and she held out her hand. They shook hands firmly and greeted each other.

"So, how long have you two been together?" My mother asked.

"A little over two months, now." Dimitri answered, taking my hand. "I don't want to be rude, but our reservation is in 15 minutes time."

"Oh, the meal, yes." My mother fumbled. "I'll go then." She looked a little sad, perhaps she was hoping to spend some actual time with me. I felt bad, I really did. I don't know what the hell drove me to do what I did next, but I hoped I wouldn't regret it.

"Would you like to come? I mean, I'm sure we could fit you in, if you want?" She looked at me with hopeful eyes and agreed. We all set off and Dimitri gazed at me with proud and loving eyes.

"You look beautiful, by the way." He murmured and kissed my knuckles as we walked to his car.

Dinner was actually okay. My mother and I got along for the first time in our lives, and she even seemed to accept Dimitri, and get along with him too. It was odd, having her here. Part of me was still steeling myself, waiting for her to pick and leave.

I was chatting to her when she suddenly froze, a gasp escaping from her. I turned to see what she was looking at.

Abe Mazur was approaching us.

Ugh, not him again. And why was my mother staring at him like that?

DPOV

I watched with narrow eyes as Abe Mazur sat down at our table. Who did he think he was? He greeted Rose and myself, and then Janine.

"Janine, it's been so long." He said very smoothly, and grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. What the hell, did she know Zmey? I looked at Rose, who also looked just as puzzled as I felt.

"Abe…" She whispered, barely audible, like she couldn't believe she was seeing him here.

"Uhm, you two know each other?" Rose asked her mother. Janine managed to compose herself once more.

"Yes, we do. How do you know each other?" She asked Rose, while Abe sat looking amused.

"We don't really, he just keeps showing up like this." At this, Roza turned and narrowed her eyes at him. I couldn't help but feel like I was missing something. Something so obvious.

"How have you been, Janine?" Abe finally spoke again.

"Fine." She replied curtly, she didn't bother returning the question.

I sat in complete silence, only observing what was happening in front of me. I looked between the three of them. There was something there, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"So how do you know each other?" Rose asked.

"Janine and I go way, way back." He smirked. "Probably around 20, 21 years, wouldn't you say, Janine?"

Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. I looked between Rose and Abe. That was it. That had to be it. They had the same skin tone, the same eyes, the same hair, and even the same snarky attitude.

I looked back to Abe and he was watching me. He smirked and put a finger to his lips, telling me to keep quite. He knew I'd worked it out.

Abe Mazur was the father of Rose Hathaway.

Dinner was pretty weird after that. Abe stayed with us, and even wished his unknowing daughter a happy birthday. As we were all leaving, I pulled him to one side.

"You're her father?" I asked him, still disbelieving.

"You know I am, so why are you asking?" He sneered.

Jesus Christ. I was dating Abe Mazur's daughter. I was love with Zmey's daughter.

"Are you going to tell her?" I asked him. I couldn't keep this from her, she'd hate me if she ever found out I knew and said nothing.

"I will, but I don't know when. For the mean time, you will tell her nothing" He instructed me.

"I can't keep this from her, you know that right? I won't lie to your daughter." I told him.

"I'm not asking you to lie to her, Belikov. Just don't tell her." He hissed at me.

"Don't tell me what" Rose asked, standing behind us with her hands on hips.

ABE POV

"Don't tell me what?" Rose asked us. Excellent. She'd overheard. Oh well, I guess now is good a time as any.

"Alright, I guess we can do this now." I spoke casually, addressing everyone as we stood in the car park.

"Abe, don't." Janine approached me, placing a hand on my arm. I hadn't seen her years, and yet here she was, stirring the same old feelings in me as she did 21 years ago.

"Okay, what the fuck is going on? If somebody doesn't start talking soon, punches will be thrown." Rose demanded, standing with her hands on her hips. I chuckled. She was a lot more like me than I'd first thought. I was proud of that.

"She has a right to know, Janine." I told her mother. She heisted at first, but nodded.

"I'll do it." Janine said. Rose looked at us, waiting.

"Rose. I'm not quite sure how to tell you this. You see, Abe and I met a long time ago." Oh God, she was going to start from the beginning. I didn't have time for this.

"I'm your father." I spoke loudly, interrupting Janine's story. Janine looked at me with her angry eyes. Cute.

Rose looked stunned, as she stood there frowning, now quite believing what I was saying.

"W-What?" She asked, taking a step back.

"It's true." Janine said. "God, you're always in such a rush with everything, you were back then and you still are." She chastised me. She was the only person who could get away with that.

"Well, I didn't rush _everything,_ did I now?" Janine flushed red, guessing my hidden meaning. Rose simply looked horrified.

"Okay, first of all, that was gross." She gave a pointed look to me. "You're really my father? Zmey is my father?" I nodded. "Oh God. I'm Zmey's daughter. Zmey Junior. Zmeyette, even." I smirked at her little breakdown.

"How in the hell did you get involved with someone like him?" She asked Janine, while pointing at me.

"He's… not that bad." Janine replied, I scoffed. The woman was crazy for me. I wonder if she still is… "You don't know him like I do." She said.

"Obviously." Rose said crisply.

"You two have a lot more in common than you think." Janine told her. Belikov and I simply watched the exchange in silence.

Ah, Belikov. Hmm, he's dating my daughter. I'd have to have words with him about that. Maybe go on a trip together, gut some fish, and gut some boyfriends.

"Are you kidding? He's arrogant, sarcastic, likes to intimidate people and-oh." She paused. She knew Janine was right, Rose was all of those things just like myself.

"Alright then, so yesterday I was parentless, and now I have two. Excellent." Rose muttered, throwing her hands around in exasperation. She didn't sound happy, but it could be worse. She could be screaming and kicking everything.

"Perhaps we should discuss this further another day?" I asked.

Everybody agreed, and I decided I would take Janine home. We were just parting ways when I decided to give Rose a gift.

"Rose?" I called for her. She turned around and waited for me to speak. I approached her and unwound the bright, multi coloured cashmere scarf I wore and I put it around her neck. She watched me with eyes that looked strikingly similar to my own.

"Happy Birthday." I told her.

"Thanks." She mumbled, and we parted ways for the night.


	20. Chapter 20

RPOV

"I just can't get over it. Zmey is my father." I said for the hundredth time after arriving back at Dimitris flat. We were sat on the sofa with a glass of wine, but my mind kept wandering back to Abe and my mother. I guess I should say my father and my mother.

"I know. I can't either." Dimitri murmured. "But let's forget about it for tonight, if you want. It's your birthday, and you still have presents to open." I perked up at that thought.

Dimitri chuckled at my sudden interest and wandered into the bedroom, before coming back with two boxes, one very small box, the other the size of a shoe box.

I bounced up and down in anticipation.

He handed me the small box, looking nervous as he did so. Oh God, he wasn't going to propose was he? I loved him, and I knew I wanted to marry him one day, but not yet.

I eagerly opened the box and inside was a silver key, with a little red bow tied around it. I picked it up and looked at him questioningly.

"Don't look so scared, Roza. I'm not asking you to move in with me, not yet anyway. I thought I'd give you your own key, so you could come and go as you like." He looked down. He was always nervous when he talking about our future, or giving me gifts like this, like the drawers.

I leaned forward, thanked him and kissed him. I was pretty nervous, scared even, that maybe it was too soon. But he was right, I wasn't moving in with him, it was just a key. Now I wouldn't have to wait outside in the hall when I got here early.

I pulled my keys out of my bag and attached the new shiny key to my key rings. I shook it and smiled at him. He smiled back, looking relieved.

Next, he handed me the other box. I ripped the paper off and took the lid off the box. Inside was loads of crap, like confetti and tissue paper and stuff like that. I dug around in the box, and found an envelope inside.

I pulled it out and opened it, pulling out some paper from inside. As I inspected it further, I realised they were plane tickets. Plane tickets to Russia, scheduled to fly in July after I've graduated.

"We're going to Russia?" I gasped, and started jumping up and down after he nodded in confirmation.

"Yes. You talked about wanting to go once, and I thought I'd prove to you that it's not an 'arctic wasteland', as you like to describe it." He grinned at me. I hugged him so hard he definitely couldn't breathe.

"Thank you so much, for everything. I love you." I whispered. His arms snaked around my waist and he pulled me onto his lap.

"I love you more, Roza." I grinned at him and kissed him hard. The kiss became more urgent and passionate as our tongues danced together. He took the tickets from my hands and placed them on the table, before his hands roamed slowly and deliciously up my thighs, hitching my dress up along with them. After a few moments, he stood up, carrying me with him, and walked into the bedroom.

Knocking on the front door woke me up the next morning. I groaned and stumbled out of bed, putting on one of Dimitri's shirts and his boxers. He was fast asleep in bed. I think I'd worn him out last night, a grin spread over my lips when I thought back to our… activities.

I stumbled to the door and nearly had a heart attack when I opened it.

"Rose, hey. I'm glad you're here." Emily said, her voice small and awkward. I hesitated before speaking.

"Uh, hi." I mumbled, not quite sure what to think. Was she here to cause more trouble again?

"Look, I just wanted to apologise. For everything that's happened between us, and Dimitri." She blurted out, taking in a deep breath when she was done.

"Uhm, okay. Thanks…" I said apprehensively. I didn't trust her.

"I know, I know. You have no reason to believe me when I say I'm sorry. But I mean it. I really do. You and Dimitri, you're really good together, and I'm glad you stayed together, despite my meddling. I just…" she raked a hand through her hair. "I realised what a bitch I was. I was dating this guy for a few years, and I found he cheated on me, and then he broke up with me. Can you believe that? H cheated, and then breaks up with me! Uhm, anyway, I was hurt, and I hated to see happy couples. I thought I could get any man I wanted… I don't really know why I'm telling you this. But yeah, I'm sorry." She looked at me, and I decided I believed her. Her eyes were honest, or she was an amazing actress.

"It's okay Emily. I forgive you, I really do." I offered her a smile and she looked relieved.

"I'm not saying we can be best friends, I've never really had girl friends to be honest". She looked a little sad. I couldn't imagined life without having a close girl friend. "But maybe things don't have to be so bad between us." She smiled a genuine smile. It struck me how beautiful she was when she showed it, when she was nice.

I stuck my hand out. "Friends?" I asked. She grabbed my hand and shook it.

"Friends. Thanks Rose." She grinned. "And again, I want to thank you for you did for Jill. She could've been put through hell, been hurt or even killed. And I don't what I'd do without my little sister. So thank you, again. I don't know how to repay you."

"Roza?" Dimitri mumbled and walked around the corner in just his boxers. He frowned when he saw Emily, and walked over to me, placing a hand around my waist. I smiled up at him before turning back to Emily.

"You don't have to do anything, Emily. Really, it's fine. I'm just glad she's okay. She is okay, right?" I asked her.

"Oh yeah, she's totally fine. She was shaken up, but she's fine." Emily smiled and glanced around nervously now that Dimitri was in our presence.

"Uhm, well, I should get going. I'll see you around." She turned and walked towards her door. I frowned remembering what she said about not having friends who are girls.

"Emily?" I called after her.

"Yeah?" She paused at her door and turned to look at me.

"Uhm, how about we go for coffee sometime? As friends, if you like." I smiled at her and hoped to God this whole new her was real and not just a way to get between Dimitri and I.

Her whole face lit up. "I'd really like that. Thanks Rose. Just come by anytime and we can sort it out." She smiled at me.

"Sure, see you soon." I closed the door and sighed. I was happy Emily was no longer a bitch or a threat. I think.

"Since when are you friends with her?" Dimitri frowned.

"Since she started being nice to me." I answered. He seemed doubtful. "I know what you're thinking. But trust me, Dimitri. I really do think she's not out to get us anymore."

"Okay. If you really think that…" he shrugged, not knowing what to say.

"I do think that. And the moment she's a threat to us, I'll kick her ass." I grinned and leaned up on my toes, placing a kiss to his lips. He instantly responded by ducking slightly and wrapping his arms around my waist, lifting me into the air as he stood straight.

God he turned me on so much.

"What do you say, cowboy? Want another round, or is my baby too tired from last night?" I pouted and his teeth grazed my lower lip, pulling at it before kissing me again and walking into the bedroom, throwing me down on the bed with a growl. God, I loved when he took charge.

"Hey Mia." I greeted her as I walked down the hall in my dorm. I hadn't seen her at all since Mason told me about her breakup.

"Oh, hi Rose." She smiled. She seemed better than I thought she would be.

"Mia, I heard about Andre. I'm sorry." I told her.

"Thanks, but it's okay. I'm over it." She said as he nodded her head.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"No, really, I'm fine. I mean, yeah I was upset at first, but we weren't going out for that long anyway. Honestly, I'm fine." She grinned and I let it drop.

"Cool. We should go out, find you a man." I winked at her and she laughed.

"Yeah sure, why not. Anyway, gotta go finish an assignment." She made a face and I felt her pain. Stupid assignments.

I walked into my room, throwing my bag and coat on the floor in the process. I noticed and envelope on the floor by the door.

Curious. Perhaps it's a late birthday card.

I picked it up and opened it as I sat down on my bed. It wasn't a card, but a letter.

 _My dearest Rose,_

 _It's been too long without any contact with you. I dream about you. I dream of the intoxicating way you smell and how your dark hair feels like silk between my fingers. I dream about the smoothness of your skin and the fierceness of your lips when we kissed._

 _I also dream of how wonderful it will feel when I take your life from this world. It's something I regret having to do, but you've made my choice inevitable. You're refusal to join me in life and love leaves no other course of action, and I can't allow someone as beautiful and dangerous as you to live. If you won't be mine, then you will not belong to another. When you die, it will be by my hand, and no one else's._

 _There is no place in this world you can hide from me. I'm watching. Always._

 _Love,_

 _Isaiah_

I read the letter over and over again, my heart beating fast in my chest.

He's still after me. Of course he is. He wouldn't just forget about me like I'd hoped. One day, he is going to come for me. And I hated myself for being terrified of that thought.

 _There is no place in this world you can hide from me. I'm watching. Always._

I was gasping for air, struggling to breathe. My head became dizzy from the panic attack.

 _No. He will not make you feel like this. You promised yourself. You said you wouldn't live in fear, Rose_ , I told myself.

I managed to control my breathing before calling Dimitri, who was now at work.

Fifteen minutes later, he was at my door, along with Ivan. He read over the note and his face hardened, his jaw ticking as he clenched his teeth. He passed the note to Ivan, who also read it before placing it in one of those clear plastic evidence bags.

Dimitri took off his gloves and sat on the bed beside me, pulling me into his arms.

"He's not going to touch you Roza, I promise. I promise I won't let him hurt you." He mumbled into my hair. I nodded, not trusting my voice.

A moment later I pulled away, I didn't want Ivan to feel uncomfortable.

"We'll take this back, get it examined. Hopefully it'll leave us some clues to help us catch him." Dimitri said as he stood up.

I stood up with him and thanked them.

"Roza, I don't want to you to be alone right now." He said.

"I'll be fine. Isaiah isn't stupid enough to come here in the middle of the day." Dimitri frowned but nodded after a moment.

"Okay, but I'll be here straight after work. Please, don't leave at all. Or if you do, tell somebody, tell me where you're going, okay?" He placed his hand on my cheek and tilted my head up to look at him.

"Okay." I smiled.

"Promise me, Roza." He looked really worried, scared for me.

"I promise, Comrade." He leaned down and pecked my lips quickly before leaving with Ivan.

My room suddenly felt very big and cold without them here.


	21. Chapter 21

RPOV

*A few days later*

I scanned the restaurant and found Janine and Abe, sorry, I mean _Mom_ and _Dad_ , sitting at a table in the corner.

I was coming alone to meet with them for lunch, to talk about, you know, the fact that fucking Zmey is my God damn father.

"Rosemarie, you actually showed up." Abe smirked at pulled me into a hug, which was awkward to say the least. I sat down opposite them and corrected him.

"Don't call me Rosemarie. It's Rose, or perhaps I should start going by Zmeyette now." I smirked back, earning a grin.

"Rose, don't say that." My mother chastised me.

"Why not? It's what they call him." I pointed a finger to my father. I realised how much I actually looked and acted like him. It was unnerving. We had the same skin, hair, eyes, attitude, everything.

"So," Abe interrupted. "Let's get down to business, shall we?" My mother rolled her eyes, and I sat back in my chair after a ordering a bowl of pasta carbonara.

"What is there to talk about? She's my mother, you're my father. You fucked 21 years ago, had me and both left me alone at some point in my life. Done." I said casually.

"Language!" My mother hissed under her breath.

"Don't you want to know why I left, Rose?" Abe asked me. I simply shrugged my shoulders. I guess a part of me was curious. Okay, a very large part of me was super curious.

Abe didn't say anything, just he sat and smirked at me with his eyebrows raised.

"Okay, fine. Yes, I would like to know." I said, throwing my hands up in exasperation.

"As you've heard, I've had my fair share in illegal doings, Kiz. I left because I got in too deep, I made enemies, enemies who would've hurt you and your mother. So Janine and I decided I would leave, for your safety, and for hers." Abe glanced towards my mother, and gave her a little smile.

"Oh…" Was all I could say. I'd always thought he just wasn't interested in me, in his only child.

"Your mother sent me constant updates, photos of you, how you were doing at school. Of course, I had to burn them all as soon as I received them, God forbid they fell into the wrong hands."

"So why are you here now?" I asked after a couple moments of silence.

"I got myself out. I'm not involved in dealings such as I was twenty years ago." His eyes gleamed slightly. I had a feeling that meant he still delved into illegal things, just not as bad as whatever the hell he got into when I was born.

The pasta came then, and I devoured it.

My mother hadn't said much the entire time. I noticed throughout the meal that they both kept stealing little lingering glances towards one another.

Oh God.

"Are you guys hooking up?" I blurted out. My mother choked on a bite of salad while my father looked at me in surprise.

"What? Uh, what makes you say that?" Abe asked, the first time I'd ever heard him sound remotely anxious.

"Oh I don't know, maybe the fact you're both looking at each other all gooey like." Shivers ran down my spine at the thought of them hooking up. Gross.

"That's none of your business." My mother chimed in, her back straight as she sat upright. "Anyway, I'd like to talk about Dimitri, and your… relationship with him." My mother said sternly as she looked me in the eye.

I sat upright in response, my defences instantly going up.

"What about him?" I asked her.

"He's a little…older, isn't he?" She asked.

"Only a few years older than me, it's not that big of a deal." I shrugged.

"Well, to me, it is." She replied, cocking a brow.

"Well, to me, it isn't." She sighed in exasperation.

"Abe?" My mother addressed him. "What do you think?"

I turned my head to look at him, he was studying my mother for a moment before turning to study me. After a minute, he slouched back in his chair.

"Rose is 21 now, an adult. I think she has the freedom to date whoever she pleases, whether it turns out to be a mistake or not." I was actually surprised by his answer, I for sure thought he would back up my mother, who did not look happy now.

"So you like him? You approve of him?" Janine asked him.

"I never said either of those, but I do believe he is an honest man. And for now, I think there are worse people in the world." Abe smiled and winked at me while undergoing to suffering glare of Janine Hathaway. I was happy that he sort of approved of Dimitri.

"Well, this has been fun. But I gotta run, adult things to do, adult people to see." I winked at my parents before standing up and leaving after saying my goodbyes.

Back at the dorm, I raised a fist a knocked on Viktoria's door.

"Come in!" I heard her yell from inside. I opened the door and walked in, noticing Sydney and Angeline were there too.

"This where the party's at?" I joked and sat down at the chair by her desk as all the bed room was taken up by the three girls. They all laughed in response and soon the girly chitter chatter was well underway.

As Angeline and Viktoria were talking about something, I don't even know what, I decided to use this time to ask about Adrian.

"So Sydney, seen any boys you like yet?" I flashed her a cheeky grin. Her face flushed slightly as she shook her head.

"I don't have time for boys. I'm here to study." She said holding her head high.

"Why can't you do both?" I winked and her resolve faltered, letting a small giggle escape.

"So, what do you think about Adrian?" I decided to ask outright, I couldn't be bothered to beat around the bush.

Her blush increased and spread over her face. Bingo. That is the sign of a girl in crush.

"What about him?" She stammered, playing with her fingers.

"Do you like him?" I asked her.

"I… I don't know him. I mean, he's good looking. But, isn't he like, a player?" She frowned slightly. I couldn't exactly disagree. Adrian was notorious for sleeping around.

"Uhm, he's actually a really sweet guy. And I think he's into you." I told her. She looked up at me, a slight glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"He is?" She asked, her eyes widening.

"Definitely. You should talk to him." I smiled at her.

Shortly after I left as it was staring to get dark. I sent Adrian a quick text, telling him he should ask her out now.

As I was walking down my hall, I sent Dimitri a quick text, saying I was home and going to bed. I knew he was constantly worried about me after I'd gotten that letter from Zi. We wouldn't be spending the night together because Dimitri was working late.

I stopped walking when I saw a small box outside my door, sitting on the floor casually, innocently. I stepped into action, picking it up and entering my room, locking the door behind me.

I sat down at my desk and opened the box carefully. Inside were loads of photographs.

Photographs of me.

Standing on campus, walking down the street, stood in town, outside Dimitris building. All of them, all of them were pictures of me.

Shivers ran down my spine as I plucked out a note from inside the box.

 _How does it feel to know you're constantly being watched? Don't worry, you won't have to worry for long, soon you'll be fucking dead._

I read the note a few times before putting it back in the box, along with the photographs. I shoved the box at the back of my wardrobe, putting it out of sight. I decided not to tell Dimitri, he was worried enough, and I didn't want to add any more to that.

DPOV

I furrowed my brow as I stared at the note from Isaiah pinned on my board at work. There was something niggling in my mind, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I sighed and leaned back into my chair, stretching out my legs.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket just as it buzzed with a text from Roza. She was home, and safe, thank God. I sent a quick reply, telling her lock everything and that I loved her.

Putting my phone away, I looked back at the board, back at the letter.

"Where are you? You son of a bitch." I whispered under my breath. I wouldn't rest until I've found him, until my Rose is safe.

I unpinned the letter, reading it for the millionth time. This isn't the first letter we've had from him, I remembered. There was one in the box. Why wasn't that here?

"Hey, Ivan? Do you know where that note is? The one that was in the box?" I turned to my partner.

"Yeah it's in evidence. Want me to go get it?" he asked and I nodded. Five minutes later he was back with note. I took it from him and compared them, side by side.

One thing I noticed was that they had different handwriting.

One was long, a full letter, full of passion, obsession and twisted love. The other just a simple threatening sentence meant to scare the reader.

Two different people, it must be.

"Ivan, look at these two notes, tell me what you think." I turned and passed them to him, watching as he studied them for a moment.

"They're from different people…" He trailed off and I nodded.

"Why do you think that?" I asked him, wanting his take on the matter.

"Well, the handwriting is obviously different. And the message is totally different too." He looked up at me and I nodded, showing my understanding.

"You think they're working together?" he asked me as he passed the notes back.

"I don't know. It's possible. It's also possible they're completely unaware of each other. But I'm sure at least two people are now involved in this."

I wanted to call Rose, to tell her about the new development, but it was really late now, and she was probably asleep. I'd talk to her another day.


	22. Chapter 22

**It literally took 2 mins to post all the chapters! Sorry for all the notifications, but now all the previous chapters have been uploaded, written by Jadey1610. The rest from now on after this chapter will be written by me. I'll upload the first new chapter tomorrow for all those returning fans!**

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*2 months later*

 **RPOV**

"I've said I'll be careful, like a million times already!" I exclaimed down the phone to Dimitri.

"Okay, okay, just call me if anything happens, right?" He spoke, his voice strained.

"I will" I sighed into the receiver. "See you later."

He didn't even speak before the line went dead. I sighed again.

Dimitri and I had been arguing a lot lately, we were both under so much stress. I had a raving lunatic after me, as well as potentially another person, God knows who. Dimitri had told me that the letters didn't match up, that it must be two different people. I mean, I know I can piss people off sometimes but jeeze, surely I wasn't that much of a bitch?

I'd also received another two letters from Zi, one of the 1st of May, and the other yesterday, the 1st of June. They were now sitting in my desk drawer. They were pretty similar to the first one, talking about how amazing and beautiful I am, and how he is going to kill me. I still hadn't told Dimitri about them or the box of photo's I'd received two months ago, which I've realised it pretty fucking stupid. I didn't tell him because I didn't want Dimitri to stress out. But I now have three. Three letters. And a box full of photos of me. I decided I would tell him when I see him on Saturday.

And on top of everything else, I had my final exams coming up in the next two weeks. That's why I'm now sat alone at my desk in my dorm room, trying and failing miserably to study.

"Come on Rose, you got this." I gave myself a little pep talk and got down to studying. I would nail these exams and graduate. Nothing will stop me, not even a psychotic man who claims he loves me but wants to kill me.

 **DPOV**

I sighed playing with my phone in my hands as I sat on one of my kitchen stools. I was so tired of arguing with Rose. It was understandable though, with everything she was going through. And I probably wasn't helping by constantly checking on her. I couldn't help it though, some crazy people were after my girlfriend, and I have every right to be worried.

"But that doesn't mean you can be a jackass, Belikov." I spoke to no one but myself. Great, now I'm talking to myself. Maybe I'm the crazy one.

I decided I'd do something nice for Rose. I wasn't supposed to see her until the weekend, but I think I can break the rules a little and surprise her tomorrow.

I was walking through the supermarket, picking up some junk food to take to Rose's tomorrow when I heard her voice.

"Dimka? Is that you?" My body went rigid at the sound of her voice. I slowly turned and saw Tasha standing there, dropping a box of cereal into her cart.

"It is you!" She exclaimed and rushed over to me. I quickly took a step back away from her, making her stop in her tracks. "Sorry, I-

"Stay away from me Tasha." I told her and turned to walk away, but she placed her hand on my arm in an effort to stop me. I quickly shrugged her off, I hated the way her hand felt on me.

"Dimka, is everything okay?" She asked, her voice soft, her face turned into a worrying frown.

"I said stay away from me." I told her again, my voice cold.

"Why are you being like this?" It was odd, watching her. It was almost like she genuinely believed she didn't know what was going on, what she'd done to Rose.

"Why am I being like this? As if you have to ask that!" I yelled in anger, receiving a few glances from other shoppers. I clenched my fists, and managed to lower my voice. "You slapped my girlfriend, remember that? When you came uninvited to my apartment in the middle of the night?" I glared at her.

"Look, I'm sorry-

"I don't care Tasha." I interrupted her. "I don't want your excuses. Stay away from me, and you better sure as hell stay away from Rose too." I gave her one final glare before walking away from her. God, that woman truly got under my skin.

I took a deep breath as I raised my fist to knock on Rose's door. I hoped she wasn't mad at me, I didn't want to fight with her anymore, I hated fighting with her.

A moment of silence later, Rose answered the door, looking stunned.

"Dimitri? What are you…" She trailed off, clearly confused as to why I was here. At least she didn't look angry. That was a good sign.

I walked into her room and dumped my bags on her floor, before turning to face her. I stood frozen on the spot for a moment, her beauty never failed to mesmerise me. She opened her mouth to speak, but I practically lunged across the room and grabbed her face in my hands, placing my mouth on hers in an all but ferocious kiss, cutting off any words she was about to say. She responded almost immediately, to my relief, and wrapped her arms around my neck as mine encircled her waist and as our mouths moved in a familiar dance, everything felt right again.

After a few moments, I pulled away slightly, resting my forehead against hers.

"I'm sorry I've been such a jackass Roza." I sighed and pressed my lips to her forehead.

"It's okay. I'm sorry too" She whispered and smiled at me, making my lips spread into a smile of their own

"Now, I know I'm not supposed to be here, and you're supposed to be studying, so…" I walked over to my bags and picked them up, dumping all the junk food I'd bought onto her bed, "I figured I could help you revise, with all your favourite foods."

And revise we did. We made little post it notes with questions and answers on, we drew diagrams and did all kinds of college revision.

"Do you have another pen? This one's out." I asked Rose as she was casually sprawled on her bed.

"Yeah, there's some in my desk drawer" She motioned with her hand before looking back down at her notes.

I hopped up from where I was sat on the floor and strolled over to the desk, opening the draw. As I rummaged around looking for a pen I accidentally knocked a small box over, and loads of photos fell out.

Photos of Rose.

I picked one up and looked at it. She clearly hadn't taken it herself, it was taken from a distance. Perhaps a friend had taken it? But she didn't even look aware of the camera. I picked up another photo and it was similar in nature, taken from a distance, Rose unaware.

"What's this?" I turned and asked her, holding one of the photo's up. She looked up at me and it took a moment for her to resister what I holding, that was when her face went blank.

"Rose?" I asked again as she hopped up off the bed, her mouth open but not speaking. I went back through the drawer and looked at more photos, there was a piece of white paper too.

"Dimitri, please, let me explain." Rose said as she strode over to me, her hand clutching my arm.

I opened the paper and read what was inside.

 _How does it feel to know you're constantly being watched? Don't worry, you won't have to worry for long, soon you'll be fucking dead._

"When did you receive this?" I turned to Rose, my voice hard and cold, but she didn't answer. "ROSE!" I shouted at her, making her flinch. I didn't like shouting, especially not at my Rose. But I was pissed.

"Two months ago." She whispered, not meeting my gaze, taking her hand off my arm.

"You've had this for two months? Why didn't you tell me you'd received this?" I was trying my hardest not shout, but I don't know how well I was succeeding.

"I didn't want you to stress out, okay? And then I just kind of, forgot that it was there…" She trailed off.

"You forgot? You FORGOT?" She flinched again. "Are you forgetting that there's a fucking psycho out there trying to kill you, maybe two of them?" Her expression suddenly took on one of pure guilt. She was hiding something else.

"Is there anything else I should know about?" I asked her, my voice icy. She simply nodded and pulled more paper out of her drawer, handing it to me.

 **RPOV**

"Ugh! I don't know any of this!" I shouted at my textbook before throwing it at the wall in frustration. I'm so going to fail my exams.

I kept thinking of Dimitri. I really wanted to speak to him, to make amends and stop all this stupid fighting we've been doing, but I figured I might as well wait until I go to his tomorrow.

I picked up my stupid textbook just as there was a knock on my door. Funny, I wasn't expecting anyone. Fear shot through my body briefly. Ugh, relax Rose, it's probably just Lissa.

I discovered it wasn't Lissa. It was better than Lissa. Dimitri.

"Dimitri? What are you…" I trailed off, confused to why he was here. Instead of answering me, he came into my room, swiftly closing the door behind him. After dumping his bags he suddenly pulled me into a kiss, and once my shock wore off, I kissed him back. It was so good to kiss him, it felt so right.

A few hours later and I was feeling so much confident, I might actually pass my exams, maybe even do really well in them! And it was all thanks to my amazing boyfriend.

"What's this?" I heard Dimitri say, his voice sounding a little confused. I looked up at him and froze when I realised what he was holding.

Shit.

Shit shit shit!

"Rose?" He asked again and I hopped up off the bed, not sure what to do or say. Dimitri went back into the drawer and pulled out the note which accompanied the photos. Fuck, shit, fuck!

"Dimitri, please, let me explain." I said, striding over to him, I placed my hand on his arm, hoping this would soothe him somehow.

His face became hard and impassive as he read the note.

"When did you receive this?" He said, his voice like ice, not like the warm voice I loved.

"ROSE!" He shouted, making me jump a little. Dimitri never shouted at me, never. He must be really pissed off, which I guess is understandable.

"Two months ago." I said, my voice barely audible. I'd been such an idiot to keep this from him.

"You've had this for two months? Why didn't you tell me you'd received this?" I could tell he was trying to control his voice, but it wasn't really working.

"I didn't want you to stress out, okay? And then I just kind of, forgot that it was there…" I said.

"You forgot? You FORGOT? Are you forgetting that there's a fucking psycho out there trying to kill you, maybe two of them?" he shouted.

Shit, the letters. He doesn't even know about the letters yet.

"Is there anything else I should know about?" he asked, his voice somehow even colder than before.

Well, I might as well get them for him. I went to my drawer and pulled out the letters, handing them over silently.

I watched as he read over them quickly. Both of them were dated so he knew when I'd received them.

"Why didn't you tell me Rose?" he looked more hurt than angry now. "Do you not trust me?" he asked.

"Of course I trust you!" I said and placed my hands on his chest, but he shrugged me off and took and took a step back, shaking his head.

"Then why did you keep this from me? Jesus Christ Rose, how fucking stupid are you? Your life is in danger and you act like you don't care!" He was shouting again.

"I do! I just-

"You know what, I can't even look at you right now." He grabbed his coat and bags, and picked up the letters and the box too.

"Dimitri, please!" I begged him but he didn't even look at me as he paused at the door.

"I'm taking these to the precinct. I'll call you later." The door slammed shut before I could usher another word.

I hated crying, but I just couldn't help it. I threw all of my shit off the bed and climbed in, crying for hours and hours until I finally fell asleep when the sun was coming up through my window.


	23. Chapter 23

**Okay folks, this is officially the first chapter i've written and the new chapter to this story. I hope people enjoy it! Please read and review, thanks.**

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 **Adrian POV**

 **One week later**

I pulled her towards me and planted my lips on hers for one last time before she got in her beloved car and drove off.

Sydney Sage, this woman was stealing my heart. And that scared me to death. But I guess that was a good thing, she made me very, very happy.

Whistling a happy tune like something out a lame romance movie, I walked towards the campus entrance while scrolling absentmindedly through my phone.

"Ugh" A man voiced as I walked right into him, almost knocking him down in the process.

"Oh shit, sorry man." I scrambled to pick up the camera and paper he'd dropped when we collided, it was my fault after all. I picked them up and stood up straight, handing the camera back first. I don't know much about cameras, well, I don't know anything about cameras, but I do know this looked like a flashy, expensive as fuck one.

"Nice camera bro," I whistled. "You a photographer?" I looked at him. He was smallish, around 5'6, he wore glasses and some weird black hat.

"I, uhm, yes, I am." He said as he took the camera from me.

I was about to pass the piece of paper over, realising it was a photograph, I froze momentarily.

There was a girl in the photo, her back to the camera, with her long brown hair flowing down to her waist, her head turned so she was looking over her shoulder.

It was Rose.

Shit, I had a bad feeling about this.

I frowned and looked at the man, who seemed a bit nervous. He wasn't Zi, I knew Zi, and I'd recognise him instantly. Maybe he was working for him? Taking pictures of Rose? Or maybe it was some other random creep.

Whatever it was, I knew it wasn't right. _Play it cool, Adrian_ , I smiled and handed him the photograph.

"Is that your girlfriend? She's very beautiful." I said, pointing at the photograph.

"Oh, um, no, she's… she's a friend." He stumbled over his words. Hmmm, doubt it. "I have to run now, bye." And just like that he scrambled away, walking fast, no, almost running down the street.

This was way too suspicious to me. I needed to do something, better to be safe than sorry, right? Making my mind up, I went and paid Belikov a visit at the police precinct.

 **Rose POV**

"Happy birthday!" I exclaimed and gave my friend a hug. It was Christians birthday in a few days, but everyone was available tonight instead so we all gathered in his room, me, Lissa, Adrian, Mia, Mason, Eddie and of course Christian. I handed over his card and gift to him and watched him open them. He laughed when he saw what present I had bought him, holding it up for the others to see. It was a book titled "How To Stop Being A Dickhead". Everyone laughed when they read the title.

"Gee, thanks Rosie. I'm glad you think so highly of me." Christian said sarcastically and smirked at me.

"Oh I saw it and I just knew it was the gift for you, Chris." I replied, smiling innocently.

For the next few hours everyone mingled and had a few drinks, Christian had said he just wanted to stay on campus instead of going out. We all laughed and joked and had a good time. In the back of my mind was Dimitri though. We hadn't spoken much since our argument last week when he found the box of photos and letters I had been hiding. It was really wearing me down, and I missed him loads.

"Hey Rose, your boyfriend not coming tonight?" Adrian asked as he approached me.

"Nope, he's uh, busy working." I lied. I had told him there'd be a little party at Christians and invited him but he declined, saying he didn't feel like partying with a bunch of college kids. Yeah, you can imagine my reply to that.

"Have you spoken to him today?" He asked. His demeanour seemed a bit off to me tonight. He'd been avoiding me all night, barely saying anything to me.

"Not much, why?" I asked curiously.

"Uh, no reason. Just wondering." Adrian replied then walked off and sat across the room.

"Things are still rough with Dimitri, huh?" Lissa whispered to me with a sad smile on her face. I'd told her everything that had happened with Dimitri and me.

"You have no idea." I replied with a small smile.

"He'll come around, he's just worried about you, that's all." Lissa gave my arm a little squeeze.

"Yeah I know, I hope it's soon though. I really miss him." I said. I turned when I heard Adrian say he had to leave very abruptly.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"There's something I have to do, sorry gang. See you." Without another word he shot out of the door. Everyone looked around a little confused at his sudden departure.

A little while later the party wrapped up, and I returned to my room and climbed into bed. I checked my phone and had nothing from Dimitri. With a sign I put my phone down and tried to get some sleep.

 **Dimitri POV**

"Belikov, there's a guy here asking for you." Ivan told me as he approached our desks in work.

"Who is it?" I asked him as I stood up from my chair.

"Says he's a friend of Rose." I frowned and made my way to the waiting area, wondering who it could be.

"Adrian?" I asked. What the fuck was he doing here? Oh God, had something happened to Rose?

"Is Rose okay? Where is she?" Adrian stood up and walked over to me.

"Chill, Rose is fine… I think anyway." Adrian frowned slightly before looking right at me.

"Then what are you doing here?" I asked him. I was always a little wary of Adrian, what with him being Roses ex and all.

"I saw something earlier, I thought you'd be the right guy to tell, cause you know, you're a cop, and her boyfriend." He shrugged his shoulders, it was pretty awkward having him here.

I took him into one of the interrogation rooms, we sat down and Adrian told me exactly what he'd seen earlier today. He told about the man and how he had a photograph of Rose, how sketchy he was acting, his appearance, everything, every detail he could remember.

"Thanks for telling me, I'll be looking into it immediately." I said as I walked him to the exit.

"Tell me the truth, Belikov. Do you think we'll catch him?" We stopped just inside the building's main door.

"I won't rest until I do, until Rose is safe." His eyes seemed to search mine for a moment, before he finally nodded at me. I nodded at him in return and he turned to leave.

"Adrian!" I called, and he turned slightly. "Will you-

"You don't have to ask, I'll keep an eye on her." He smiled slightly and then left.

As soon as Adrian left I had my entire team looking through our database for the man Adrian had described. It took hours but eventually we found a man under the name of Paul Hastings. 19 years old, one charge of petty theft at age 17, resulting in community service. Apart from that there wasn't much more information, though his address was there. I quickly called Adrian and asked him to come take a look at the photograph, I wanted to be sure we had the right guy.

Half an hour later Adrian showed up and I showed him the photo of the man on the computer screen.

"Well?" I asked rather impatiently.

"Uh, yeah that's him man!" Adrian replied, pointing at the screen.

"Are you sure?" I asked, raising a brow.

"100% sure man, that's definitely the guy I spoke to." Adrian looked at me with nothing but confidence.

"Well then, let's go pay Mr. Hastings a visit." I said to Ivan before turning to Adrian.

"You haven't told Rose about all this, have you?" Adrian asked, standing with his arms crossed.

"No, I haven't. Why?" I asked him, mimicking his stance.

"Don't you think she should know? I had to lie to her earlier and lie to get here." He said. I thought about my answer for a moment. I had wanted to tell Rose about this new development. But I didn't want to scare her, or give her any false hope about catching the people behind this.

"Not right now Adrian. It'll just frighten her even more, is that what you want?" I asked him.

"Obviously not." He scoffed. "I think you should talk to her though. She really misses you." He seemed sincere, which was odd for Adrian.

"Thanks for your help Adrian, I appreciate it." I gave a small smile before picking up my stuff and heading to the car with Ivan. Ivan drove because I was too keyed up. This is first genuine lead we've actually had since rose started receiving those death threats. And it was all thanks to Adrian. Life really surprises you sometimes.

We end up pulling up in front of a dingy looking house in a rough area of town, only about 15 minutes from where rose lives. With my badge and gun on me, we head up the old, creaky wooden steps and approach the front door. Ivan gave me a reassuring nod before I rapped on the three times. We waited for a minute but no answer. I knocked again, still no answer. We peeked through the windows and it looks like the house is pretty much abandoned, though there were signs of a person living in there. Soda cans on the table, snack wrappers on the floor.

"Maybe he's not in?" Ivan questioned.

"Or maybe he doesn't want to speak to us." I replied. We hatched out a quick plan, Ivan would stay here guarding the front door while I sneak round back and survey the area.

I walked through the gate to the backyard and as I rounded the corner, believe it or not, a man was hanging out the back window, his head and torso through the window while struggling to get his legs through. He looked up at me and swore before trying to wiggle his way back into the house.

 _Oh not on my watch you son of a bitch_ , I thought to myself. I ran over at lightning speed while calling for Ivan, grabbed his shoulders and pulled him through the window, practically throwing him on the ground.

"Ah, what the fuck man?" The man exclaimed in pain, rubbing his backside. Ivan rounded the corner and I grabbed his jacket collar, picked him up and pinned him against the wall.

"Jesus Christ, what do you want? I haven't done anything! I swear!" cried Paul.

"Then why did you try to run away from me?" I asked, making a very valid point.

"Ugh, have you seen you? No offense but you're a pretty scary guy, doesn't everyone run away from you?" he said, sweating under my tight grasp of his coat.

"Oh I can be a lot scarier, trust me." He visibly gulped at my words. "You're Paul Hastings, correct?" I asked. He slowly nodded his head.

"I have one question for you. Why were you taking photos of a Miss Rose Hathaway at the college today?" I asked. His eyes widened briefly before he tried to regain his composure.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He replied quickly, averting my gaze.

"Don't lie to me!" I practically growled. Ivan stood next to me ready for any action.

"Look man, I don't even know you, you can't come to my house and interrogate me like this!" he cried again, clearly scared out of his wits. I let go of his coat and reached inside mine to grab my badge.

"Oh yes I can." I replied smirking slightly, showing him my badge. His eyes widened again, and he gulped one more time.

"Answer the question, why were you taking photos of her?" I asked again.

He looked away, probably deciding on what to say. Finally he looked at me and sighed.

"Look, some girl found me and asked me to take photos of that Rose girl. She paid me to do it." He said.

"What girl?" I asked, as Ivan started jotting down the conversation in his notepad.

"I don't know." He said.

"I said don't lie to me!" I shouted. "I could arrest you for stalking her, you know."

"I'm not lying! I swear! She never told me her name, and she wore a scarf around her hair and sunglasses." He said. I gave him the most threatening look I could manage and he cringed back. "I swear man, I swear I don't know who she is!" he cried. Annoyingly, I believed him.

"Why did you do it?" I demanded.

"For the money man! She paid me a lot just to take photos of her! That's all, I didn't think it was hurting her so I did it." _If only he knew_ , I thought.

"Is there anything else you know?" I asked and sighed.

"No man, that's everything. I swear." He replied.

"Alright, I need you to come to the station with us." I told him, a plan forming in my head already. I will catch these sick bastards if it's the last thing I do.

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 **Don't forget to review and let me know what you think!**


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